Hard to watch images from Vietnam. Fishermen trudge their boats through hundreds of thousands of dead fish over hundreds of hectares

More than 100 temperature records were broken in Vietnam in April, according to official data released by the local weather service, as South and Southeast Asia is hit by a deadly heat wave. In recent weeks, extreme heat has swept across Asia, from India to the Philippines, causing heatstroke-related deaths and school closures.

Climate change caused by human actions will lead to more frequent, longer and more intense heat waves, scientists regularly warn.

Vietnam experienced three heat waves in April, according to data released by the National Center for Hydrometeorological Forecasts on Friday, with the mercury reaching 44 degrees Celsius in two cities earlier this week. This figure is close to the highest temperature ever recorded in Vietnam: 44.2 degrees Celsius, recorded on May 7, 2023.

In total, 102 meteorological stations registered records in April, with northern and central Vietnam being the most affected by the heat wave, with temperatures, on average, 2-4 degrees Celsius higher than the same period last year. Seven meteorological stations recorded temperatures above 43 degrees Celsius on Tuesday.

Hundreds of thousands of dead fish

The most dramatic effect of the extreme weather that hit Vietnam was recorded in the southern province of Dong Nai, where hundreds of thousands of fish died in a pool. Publicized footage showed residents boating in the 300-hectare Song May Reservoir, where the water was barely visible beneath the dead fish. This massive mortality was attributed to the heat wave and poor management of the situation.

Vietnam’s meteorological agency has forecast new heat waves in May, with temperatures 1.5 to 2.5 degrees Celsius higher than those recorded in previous years at the same time.

While April and May are usually the hottest months of the year in Southeast Asia, experts say the El Nino phenomenon is making the heat particularly intense this year.

Bangladesh and Myanmar also experienced high temperatures in April, and heatstroke has killed at least 30 people in Thailand since the start of the year.

Also, high temperatures were partly responsible for a deadly explosion at an ammunition depot in Cambodia.

In the Philippines, Catholic bishops urged the faithful to pray for rain and cool temperatures after the heatwave prompted the government to temporarily suspend classes in tens of thousands of schools.

The mega-city of Calcutta in eastern India experienced oppressive heat, with the mercury in thermometers soaring to 43 degrees Celsius, on the hottest April day on record since 1954.

Even mountainous Nepal has been affected – the government has issued public health warnings and firefighters are battling wildfires of unusual magnitude.

Publisher: GM

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