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Jakarta –
The scorching hot weather has prompted the Bangladeshi government to dismiss 33 million pupils and students. The air temperature in parts of the country reached 42 degrees Celsius.
Schools and colleges will be closed at least until April 27. This is the second year in a row that authorities have taken such steps due to extreme weather.
The policy of dismissing students in Bangladesh also follows the closure of schools in the Philippines and India due to the heat wave that continues to hit Asia.
“Children in Bangladesh are among the poorest in the world, and the closure of schools due to the heat should be a wake-up call for us all,” said Shumon Sengupta, Save the Children’s director in Bangladesh.
The country’s weather agency issued its fourth heat warning for this month, on Thursday (25/04).
Bangladesh, which is located in the lowlands, is one of the countries most vulnerable to the impacts of the climate crisis.
Children cool off in a lake on a hot day in Dhaka. (Getty Images)
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a 30 to 45cm rise in sea levels could drown more than 35 million people from coastal districts, or about a quarter of the country’s total population.
On Wednesday (24/04), thousands of Muslims in the country gathered in mosques and rural fields to pray for rain.
“Life has become unbearable because of the lack of rain… Poor people are suffering a lot,” one cleric, Muhammad Abu Yusuf, told the news agency AFP.
Yusuf led morning prayers for 1,000 people in the central part of the capital Dhaka on Wednesday.
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The Bangladesh weather agency predicts extreme hot weather will continue for at least the next week.
Hospitals and clinics have been asked to prepare for an increase in the number of patients suffering from heat-related illnesses such as fever and headaches.
Patients suffering from heatstroke will be treated in air-conditioned wards, Health Minister Samanta Lal Sen said earlier this week.
“World leaders must act immediately to reduce temperature rise, and consider children, especially those affected by poverty, inequality and discrimination, in climate decision-making and funding,” said Sengupta.
Getty ImagesThousands of Bangladeshis gather to pray for rain as an extreme heat wave hits the country.
Unicef ​​has warned that more than 243 million children in East Asia and the Pacific are at risk of illness and death from heat.
Very high temperatures pose a “substantial risk” especially to newborns and toddlers, because they are less able to regulate their body temperature than adults, the agency said.
Separately, officials in the Thai capital Bangkok issued a warning that this week the heat index would reach “very dangerous” levels.
This index is a measure of perceived temperature taking into account humidity, wind speed, and other factors.
Getty ImagesA Chinese tourist wears a hat, sunglasses and a face covering to protect himself from the sun during a heat wave in Bangkok, Thailand on April 1, 2024.
Thirty people in Thailand have died from hot weather between January and April 17 this year. During 2023, 37 people will die, Thailand’s health ministry said on Wednesday.
Across the border in Myanmar, temperatures also soared above 45C on Wednesday.
Earlier this month, around 47,000 schools in the Philippines also suspended teaching and learning activities due to the extreme hot weather.
Fire incidents across the Philippines from January to March have increased 24% compared with the same period in 2023 due to excess power, and electric fans overheating due to non-stop use, fire authorities said.
Getty ImagesStudents in the Philippine capital, Manila, use cardboard boxes to protect themselves from the sun.
Asia bears the brunt of extreme weather
Countries in Asia have borne the brunt of extreme weather events in recent years.
Asia is warming faster than the global average. The warming trend has almost doubled since the 1961-1990 period.
“Many countries in the region are experiencing their hottest year on record in 2023, along with a series of extreme conditions, from droughts and heatwaves to floods and storms,” ​​said Celeste Saulo, Secretary General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in a statement Latest report this week.
In 2023, WMO reports that there will be 79 disasters related to hydrometeorological hazard events in Asia according to the Emergency Event Database.
Of this number, more than 80% were related to flood and storm events, with more than 2,000 fatalities and nine million people directly affected.
Several extreme rainfall events occurred in 2023. In June, July and August, several flood and storm events resulted in more than 600 reported deaths in India, Pakistan and Nepal.
The Hong Kong Observatory Headquarters recorded an hourly rainfall total of 158.1 mm on September 7, the highest since records began in 1884, as a result of the typhoon. Several stations in Vietnam recorded record-breaking daily rainfall amounts in October.
Heavy rainfall caused flooding in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in November.
Yemen also experienced heavy rains and caused major flooding.
Getty ImagesChildren play near the dry bed of a lake in Kathiatoli town, Nagaon District, Assam, India, on April 20, 2024.
In August and early September 2023, the far eastern part of the Russian Federation experienced one of the largest disasters in recent decades, affecting approximately 40,000 hectares of rural land.
Much of Asia experienced extreme heat events in 2023. Japan experienced its hottest summer on record. China experienced 14 high temperature events in the summer, with about 70% of national meteorological stations exceeding 40 and 16 stations breaking their temperature records.
In India, a severe heat wave in April and June resulted in around 110 deaths due to heat stroke.
A major and prolonged heat wave hit much of Southeast Asia in April and May, extending as far west as Bangladesh and Eastern India, and north into southern China, with record-breaking temperatures.
Getty ImagesPeople drink water and wash their faces from a roadside water pipe during a heat wave in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on April 23, 2024.
Despite the increased health risks posed by extreme heat, heat-related deaths often go unreported.
“Climate change is exacerbating the frequency and severity of such events, which have a profound impact on society, the economy, and most importantly, human life and the environment in which we live,” said Celeste Saulo.
WMO calls on countries to provide data services that can support reducing the risk of extreme weather disasters. This is a reference for taking strategic steps and interventions to mitigate increased disaster risks.
(ita/ita)
