Story by Doyle Rice, USA TODAY • Yesterday
Much of southern and southeastern Asia is enduring a deadly, record-smashing heat wave, one that's being called the continent's worst ever recorded in April.
Several all-time record high temperatures have been broken, including a torrid 113.7 degrees in Tak, Thailand, the nation's hottest reading on record.
Laos also recorded its highest reliable temperature in its history earlier this week, with 108.9 degrees at Luang Prabang, reported climatologist and weather historian Maximiliano Herrera.
As the searing heat spread from India to China to Thailand to Japan, Herrera called it a "monster Asian heat wave like none before."
Heat turns deadly in India
It was in India where the heat deaths were reported. According to CNN, 13 people died of heat stroke, and 50 to 60 others were hospitalized after attending a ceremony in the city of Navi Mumbai, located in the western state of Maharashtra last Sunday.
According to Axios, the ceremony was held outdoors, with tens of thousands of people packed close together.
Elsewhere, the eastern Indian state of West Bengal closed all colleges this week due to scorching heat.
In addition, this February was recorded as the warmest February in the country in 122 years.
Role of climate change: Extreme heat waves may be our new normal, thanks to climate change. Is the globe prepared?
Record heat in China, Japan, Koreas
Meanwhile, hundreds of weather stations across China have seen their warmest April temperatures on record, the Capital Weather Gang said. Climate specialist Jim Yang said 109 weather stations across 12 provinces broke their record for high temperature for April on Monday.
The heat reached Japan and the Koreas on Wednesday, Herrera said, as temperatures reached near 90 degrees, which is unusually high for April in those countries. More records are expected there in the next couple of days, he added.
People rest under the shade of trees to beat the intense heat in Lucknow in the the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, Wednesday, April 19, 2023.© Rajesh Kumar Singh, AP
Meanwhile, hundreds of weather stations across China have seen their warmest April temperatures on record, the Capital Weather Gang said. Climate specialist Jim Yang said 109 weather stations across 12 provinces broke their record for high temperature for April on Monday.
The heat reached Japan and the Koreas on Wednesday, Herrera said, as temperatures reached near 90 degrees, which is unusually high for April in those countries. More records are expected there in the next couple of days, he added.
People rest under the shade of trees to beat the intense heat in Lucknow in the the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, Wednesday, April 19, 2023.© Rajesh Kumar Singh, AP
What caused the heat wave? Is climate change to blame?
"The heat was caused by a building, large ridge of high pressure that reached from the Bay of Bengal to the Philippine Sea," AccuWeather meteorologist Jason Nicholls said. High pressure prevents clouds and precipitation from forming, and typically brings clear skies.
More broadly speaking, AccuWeather said the scale of the heat wave bears the hallmarks of climate change, as human-induced warming is making heat waves in the region last longer at higher intensities.
Axios said "the most recent report from the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change made clear that 'every increment' of additional warming will worsen climate change effects, including heat waves."
"The heat was caused by a building, large ridge of high pressure that reached from the Bay of Bengal to the Philippine Sea," AccuWeather meteorologist Jason Nicholls said. High pressure prevents clouds and precipitation from forming, and typically brings clear skies.
More broadly speaking, AccuWeather said the scale of the heat wave bears the hallmarks of climate change, as human-induced warming is making heat waves in the region last longer at higher intensities.
Axios said "the most recent report from the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change made clear that 'every increment' of additional warming will worsen climate change effects, including heat waves."
Contributing: The Associated Press
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