by Rashid Ating
The heatwave phenomenon has broken the highest temperature record recorded by several countries, such as Vietnam, Thailand, China, India, and Bangladesh.
However, this incident has also affected other ASEAN countries, including Malaysia (especially the Northern and East Coast states, close to Thailand).
The situation will continue until August due to the monsoon transition season. Although not as impacted as other countries, the locals need to take preventive and safety measures and be more careful so that this heat stroke phenomenon does not kill vulnerable people.
The phenomenon that hit several major cities in Asia and ASEAN in recent years has had various economic, social, and political effects. This phenomenon is a common occurrence that occurs every year due to the Earth’s climate change. Scientists and climatologists (researchers of variable changes and climate impacts on the Earth’s biosphere) expect this to be just the beginning of a long drought.
According to expectations, it is also likely that the existing situation will worsen due to the El Nino phenomenon, which is expected to hit the same time of year.
Temperatures in major cities in Asia and ASEAN
Figure 1: Maximum Temperature Heat Map in Major Cities in the Asian Region
Source: WeatherOnline
Figure 1 shows the maximum temperature map of major cities in the Asia and ASEAN region dated 2 May 2023. We can see that major cities such as Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), Mumbai (India), Dhaka (Bangladesh), and Don Muang (Thailand) experience quite extreme temperatures of around 400C and above. Meanwhile, other cities in Asia and ASEAN, such as New Delhi (India), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Singapore, Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Manila (Filifina), Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, and Urumqi (China), have temperatures around 350C to 300C. In areas such as East Bengal, India, the temperature reached over 400C. In Sukoharja, Java, Indonesia, 330C caused the surrounding residents in both areas to be able to fry omelette eggs due to the extreme heat in the area.
Impact of Heatwave Phenomenon on Asian and ASEAN Residents
For countries that rely on the production of crop resources as one of their export commodities, e.g., India and some other ASEAN countries such as Thailand, this phenomenon of rising temperature will disrupt the crop harvest process due to extreme heat, in addition to more than usual water consumption to prevent crops from dying due to heat.
As for taxi drivers, they cannot carry out activities as usual due to the extreme heat, such as in India and Myanmar. They had to stop for a while due to the high heat of the heat. Those in the construction sector also can’t stay outside for too long and have to stop when the heat gets felt, as it is feared that being exposed for too long will cause them to suffer heat stroke. In some other countries, for example, Thailand, residents stay in shopping malls during the scorching heat to reduce the heat.
Only some are lucky, while those living in large cities with high population density, such as Mumbai, New Delhi, and Dhaka, are forced to endure this extreme heat while fasting. In addition, they will also have difficulty sleeping at night due to the heat. Electric power stations will operate beyond capacity due to increased demand for energy consumption. Because of the extended period of use, there is a possibility of cutting off the electricity supply, which will affect the country having many poor residents, such as Bangladesh.
The cost of electricity consumption is increasing, for example, in Thailand. The air conditioner and fan will continuously cool down, especially at noon when the sun is increasingly felt, not least in countries with Muslim-majority populations, such as Bangladesh, where residents pray for rain to reduce some of this heat after the country reaches the highest temperature ever recorded in 40 years.
In Manila, the Philippines increased the temperature to 370C, causing seven students to faint due to a power outage. Therefore, the school session may be conducted online to reduce the risk of students experiencing similar events.
The Malaysian Government is also considering temporarily suspending school sessions due to this heatwave phenomenon.
The Malay Version of this article was published in e-Jendela Dewan Masyrakat, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, May 2023, entitled “Fenomena Gelombang Haba di ASEAN.”
