In Southeast Asia, a prolonged heat wave continues to wreak havoc. The reason is said to be man-made climate change.
Frankfurt – Average temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius are also a rarity for Southeast Asia. In 2023, they are more often a reality - maximum temperatures of 45 degrees have been measured in some cases.
Record heat in Southeast Asia continues to cause chaos
Every day, temperatures in countries such as Vietnam rise to over 30 degrees Celsius. According to experts, the reason for the high temperatures is an "El Niño" phase – this refers to non-cyclical and changed ocean currents in the equatorial Pacific. Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines are particularly affected. The Bangkok Post newspaper spoke of a "brutal heat" that should be understood as an ominous sign and warning to the world.
In Southeast Asia, people are currently having to cope with a prolonged heat wave. © NurPhoto/Imago (symbolic image)
Record temperatures were recorded in several countries in Southeast Asia. In Bangladesh, it was over 40 degrees Celsius in the meantime – warmer than it has been for decades. In Thailand, the highest temperature ever recorded in the city of Tak was even recorded: 45.4 degrees Celsius. "Extreme temperatures make hard work harder and affect my health," CNN quotes a 53-year-old sanitation worker from Hanoi as saying. The climatologist and weather historian Maximiliano Herrera even speaks of a "brutal, never-ending heat wave".
Is such a heat wave also possible in Europe?
According to a report by the World Weather Attribution (WWA), it is a heat wave that only occurs every 200 years. The scientists also cited the reason for this: without human-induced climate change, the heat wave would have been "practically impossible". Although there are currently some rainy days in Southeast Asia, temperatures remain high. The monsoon season is still to come, usually from June to October.
In Germany and Europe, too, heat waves and heavy rainfall will probably be part of life in the coming decades. According to the World Meteorological Organization, temperatures in Europe rose twice as fast as the global average. The heat waves in the Mediterranean were also striking, with Spain and Portugal already recording temperatures of around 40 degrees at the end of April. In Germany, there is currently a long-lasting drought in large parts – one weather expert even fears tropical conditions.
