Asia climate woes mount as heat shatters May records
- After punishing heatwaves struck large parts of the continent in April, temperatures spiked again in late May
- Highs were registered in China and Southeast Asia, including Singapore that was at its hottest for the month in 40 years
Countries across Asia have been hit by another round of extreme heat that has toppled seasonal temperature records throughout the region, raising concerns about their ability to adapt to a rapidly changing climate.
After punishing heatwaves struck large parts of the continent in April, temperatures spiked again in late May, normally the start of the cooler monsoon season.
Seasonal highs were registered in China, Southeast Asia and elsewhere, and experts warned that there was more to come.
“We can’t say that these are events that we need to get used to, and adapt to, and mitigate against, because they are only going to get worse as climate change progresses,” said Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick, a climate scientist with the University of New South Wales in Australia.
The heatwave in Vietnam, expected to last well into June, has already forced authorities to turn off street lights and ration electricity as air conditioning demand threatened to overwhelm the power grid.
The country recorded its highest temperature ever on May 6, at 44.1 Celsius (111.4 Fahrenheit), in Thanh Hoa province, about 150km (93 miles) south of Hanoi. Another province came close to the record on Wednesday, hitting 43.3C.
