Classes suspended and alerts due to extreme heat wave affecting Southeast Asia

The classrooms of the Philippines woke up deserted this Monday due to a suspension order from the authorities due to a wave of extreme heat which has raised alerts in various countries in Southeast Asia.

The Philippine Department of Education announced on Sunday the suspension for two days starting this Monday of in-person classes in all public schools in the country, which is also facing a strike by passenger transporters.

The country’s meteorological institute, Pagasa, has announced extreme heat these days, with a heat index or thermal sensation above 45 degrees in some areas of the country.

The thermal sensation is calculated by applying the multiplying effects of high humidity to the temperature.

Given that many schools in the country do not have air conditioning, the Department of Education chose to impose distance education in all public centers, while leaving private centers the freedom to choose whether or not to hold in-person classes.

The extreme heat wave that the archipelago is experiencing this week coincides with the announcement of a national strike of jeepney drivers, an adapted jeep that can seat about 16 people and is the public transport par excellence in the country for short distances. and stockings.

Jeepneys are used by tens of thousands of schoolchildren throughout the country, so the strike would make it difficult for them to get to school and lengthen their exposure to the heatwave.

In Thailand, the Meteorological Department raised alerts this Monday for temperatures that exceed 40 degrees and reach peaks of up to 44 degrees, mainly in the north.

“During the period April 29-May 5, residents in northern Thailand should take health precautions due to hot and very hot temperatures.”the department noted on Facebook.

30 dead due to heat waves in Thailand

In recent weeks, Thailand has experienced record temperatures of up to 45 degrees, with wind chills as high as 52 degrees.

Last Friday, the Bangkok authorities asked that outside activities be avoided due to the dangers of heat stroke, which has caused thirty deaths in the country since the beginning of the year.

Despite the alerts from the authorities, many workers such as street vendors, motorcycle taxi drivers or construction employees, for the most part, cannot stop working.

Highest April temperature recorded in Burma

Extreme temperatures are also wreaking havoc in countries such as Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia and Malaysia.

In the small town of Chauk, on the Burmese plain, the thermometer reached 48.2 degrees Celsius, the highest temperature in the country during the month of April since records began 56 years ago, said the national meteorology department.

This city, where there is a climate classified as “semiarid”, is located in one of the driest and hottest areas of the country, the so-called “Dry Valley” of the central region of Burma.

This Monday, 44.8 °C was also reached in Mandalay, the second most populated city, and 40.1 °C in Yangon, the former capital and city with the largest population.

The thermometers shot up in other regions such as the Sagaing power plant, where it reached 45.5 °C, Magway, with 46.1 °C or Naypyidó, the current capital and where 42.2 °C was recorded, stated in a statement from the meteorology department.

According to the Irrawaddy portal, many residents in Yangon are forced to spend their evenings in the streets and parks due to the numerous electricity outages and the lack of air conditioning in many homes.

The heat typical of these dates in Southeast Asia, aggravated in recent years by the climate crisis, is joined by the El Niño phenomenon, which brings more dryness and heat.

El Niño causes rising temperatures that exacerbate the effects of climate change, while La Niña is a colder, wetter phase.