INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Millions of people across South and Southeast Asia are facing sweltering temperatures, with unusually hot weather forcing schools to close
and threatening public health.Thousands of schools across the Philippines, including in the capital region Metro Manila, have suspended
UN, which has called for greater support to help the country prepare for similar weather events in the future
conditions to the region.Thai authorities said 30 people had been killed by heatstroke so far this year, and warned people to avoid outdoor
Demand for electricity soared to a new high on Monday night of 35,830 megawatts, as people turned to air conditioning for relief, local
when the air is more humid, it is harder for the body to regulate its temperature by sweating.View image in fullscreenA man cools off in
street tap water during the heatwave in West Bengal, India
Photograph: Jit Chattopadhyay/SOPA Images/REX/ShutterstockOn Friday, the Philippines weather agency warned Metro Manila and 31 other areas
were predicted to experience dangerous temperatures
The heat index was expected to reach 42C in Quezon City, the most populous city in the country, it said.The unusually high temperatures have
caused disruption to education and agriculture across the Asian region
Bangladesh was also forced to close all schools this week after temperatures soared to between 40C and 42C in some areas.About 33 million
children in Bangladesh were affected, according to the charity Save the Children
Children International.Thousands of people in Bangladesh have gathered in mosques and rural fields, praying for relief from the heat.In
India, where a mammoth election lasting nearly six weeks, is now under way, the election commission met this week with officials from the
weather agency to discuss how to mitigate the impact of the heat on voters
Floods and storms caused the highest number of reported casualties and economic losses, it said, while the impact of heatwaves became more
severe.Last year, severe heatwaves in India in April and June caused about 110 reported deaths due to heatstroke
across the world, driving more frequent and more deadly disasters from heatwaves to floods to wildfires
At least a dozen of the most serious events of the last decade would have been all but impossible without human-caused global heating.
This article first appeared/also appeared in theguardian.com
