More than 100 weather records melt in Vietnam as heatwave blazes on

The country saw three waves of high temperatures in April, with the mercury peaking above 43 degrees Celsius at seven weather stations

Extreme heat has gripped the region from India to the Philippines in recent weeks, triggering heatstroke deaths and school closures

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A man carries a plastic bucket across the cracked bed of a dried-up pond in Vietnam’s southern Ben Tre province. Photo: AFP

Published: 1:37pm, 4 May 2024Updated: 1:39pm, 4 May 2024

More than 100 temperature records fell across Vietnam in April, according to official data, as a deadly heatwave scorches South and Southeast Asia.

Extreme heat has blasted Asia from India to the Philippines in recent weeks, triggering heatstroke deaths, school closures and desperate prayers for cooling rain.

Scientists have long warned that human-induced climate change will produce more frequent, longer and intense heatwaves.

Vietnam saw three waves of high temperatures in April, according to data published on Friday by the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, with the mercury peaking at 44 degrees Celsius (111.2 Fahrenheit) in two towns earlier this week.

The mark is only slightly below the highest temperature ever recorded in Vietnam – 44.2 C on May 7 last year.

A resident pumping underground water from a dried reservoir in Vietnam’s Ninh Thuan province on April 6. Photo: AFP

In all, 102 weather stations saw record highs in April, as northern and central Vietnam bore the brunt of the heatwave, with temperatures on average 2-4 C higher than during the same period last year.