Southeast Asia heatwave shuts Philippine schools, boosts power demand in Thailand, as Myanmar bakes in 48 degree weather

The Philippines announced it will halt in-person classes at public schools, while Thai power demand rose to a record, as a heatwave grips southern Asia

Meanwhile, Myanmar recorded its hottest ever April temperature of 48.2 degrees Celsius, authorities said on Monday,

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Students use a cardboard to protect themselves from the sun during a hot day in Manila. The Philippines announced it will halt in-person classes at public schools amid a crippling heat wave. Photo: AFP

Published: 4:02pm, 29 Apr 2024Updated: 8:08pm, 29 Apr 2024

The Philippines announced it will halt in-person classes at public schools, while Thai power demand rose to a record, as the heatwave gripping southern Asia continued to take its toll.

The temperature in metropolitan Manila soared to 38.8 degrees Celsius (101.8 degrees Fahrenheit) on Saturday, according to the nation’s weather forecaster. That beat the previous all-time high recorded in May 1915, ABS-CBN News reported. The Department of Education responded to the sweltering weather, and a Jeepney transport strike across the country, by closing public schools on Monday and Tuesday.

In Thailand, power demand reached a record 36,356 megawatts late on Saturday, the Ministry of Energy said. The country’s northern and northeastern regions are expected to be the hottest, with a high of 44 degrees recorded in some areas on Sunday.

Power lines suspended above a street during high temperatures in Bangkok. Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy has been bracing for hotter-than-normal days due to the El Nino weather pattern that’s forecast to last until June. Photographer: Bloomberg

Bangkok issued extreme heat warnings last week as its index rose to “very dangerous” levels. About 30 people have died due to the high temperatures this year in Thailand, compared with 37 heat-linked fatalities in all of 2023, according to government data.

Soaring heat and drought have been felt in recent weeks from India, which is carrying out the world’s largest election in temperatures that have risen above 40 degrees, to the coffee plantations of Vietnam.

Myanmar recorded its hottest ever April temperature, authorities said on Monday.

The mercury hit 48.2 degrees in the town of Chauk in central Myanmar’s Magway region on Sunday, according to a statement from the country’s weather office, the highest temperature seen anywhere in Myanmar in April since records began 56 years ago.

A woman walks with a cold drink under an umbrella along a street on a hot day in Yangon. Myanmar recorded its hottest ever April temperature of 48.2 degrees Celsius. Photo: AFP

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