The main purpose of this ongoing blog will be to track planetary extreme, or record temperatures related to climate change. Any reports I see of ETs will be listed below the main topic of the day. I’ll refer to extreme or record temperatures as ETs (not extraterrestrials).😉
Main Topic: New Asian Heat Wave Summary
Dear Diary. I’ve been reporting on a historic Asian heatwave for weeks. My last summary can be found here:
Matthew Cappucci from the Washington Post has written an excellent summary of detailing this event so far. I fear that his or his colleagues next article will be on a developing cyclone in the Bay of Bengal, which can be linked to this heat. Here is today’s latest GFS, indicating that the system will be targeting Myanmar on Saturday as a major cyclone (hurricane):
Southeast Asia has been greatly suffering excess heat this spring but is not very responsible for carbon pollution adding to this health crisis. That’s a matter of climate justice. Let that sink in.
Here is Matthew Cappucci’s latest summary:
Extreme heat, well into triple digits, smashes all-time records in Asia – The Washington Post
Extreme heat, well into triple digits, smashes records in Asia
Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam all experienced temperature spikes, in some places topping 110 degrees
May 8, 2023
People shield themselves from the sun with umbrellas in Bangkok on Monday. (Narong Sangnak/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)
A historic heat wave is bringing largely unprecedented temperatures to Southeast Asia, delivering a dangerous heat stress that could pose grave threats to vulnerable populations and smashing all-time records. Both Vietnam and Laos have recorded their hottest temperatures ever observed, in some places topping 110 degrees Fahrenheit — the latest in a string of global records that fit into the context of a warming climate.
Maximiliano Herrera, a climate historian who tracks temperature records, tweeted that the episode is “one of the most brutal heat event[s] the world has ever witnessed,” bluntly writing that “records are being pulverized.” In addition to Laos and Vietnam, widespread record heat is gripping Cambodia, Thailand and parts of China.
Historic Asia heat breaks hundreds of records, with extremes in Thailand and China
In some places, the extreme temperatures are fueling severe thunderstorms that have brought flooding as an unwelcome crescendo to the heat.
On Saturday, Luang Prabang in Laos made it to 110.3 degrees, beating out its 108.9-degree all-time record set just last month. Laos’s capital of Vientiane, home to roughly 1 million residents, made it to 108.5 degrees — its hottest on record. At least half a dozen other weather stations spiked above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), and virtually every station either broke or came close to breaking all-time records.
Luang Prabang repeated its record Sunday. And Thakhek didn’t fall below 89.2 degrees on Saturday night, the nation’s hottest night on record.
Approximately 18.3 percent of Laotians live in poverty, and are far more likely to be harmed by elevated temperatures. It’s likely that significant excess mortality — or premature deaths caused by the intersection of heat stress and preexisting vulnerabilities — is occurring across Southeast Asia.
The same is true in Vietnam, where Hoi Xuan hit 111.4 degrees, a nationwide all-time record. The previous record was 110.1 degrees, set in 2019.
“Vietnam brutalized nearly every record from north to south,” tweeted Herrera.
Then Sunday proved even hotter — it reached 111.6 degrees in Tuong Duong.
In Thailand, meanwhile, a temperature station in downtown Bangkok hit 104.9 degrees on Saturday, the highest value ever recorded there. Sunday featured a high of 105.8 degrees. Averaged nationwide, it was Thailand’s hottest day on record. Just last month was the first time Thailand had ever recorded a reading of 45 degrees Celsius, or 113 Fahrenheit, anywhere in the country.
A woman carries an electric fan on a motorcycle along a street in Hanoi on Monday. (Luong Thai Linh/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)
Cambodia set a new national May record, with 106.9-degree readings at Kratie and at Ponhea Kraek.
Saturday also featured record heat in China, including in Hainan province, which witnessed its hottest day ever observed. Changjiang hit 106.7 degrees.
In the Philippines, extreme temperatures have forced school closures, Bloomberg News reported.
Added atop the heat, there is toxic smog. Ground-level ozone is reaching unhealthy levels, making it hazardous to venture outdoors.
Causing the heat has been a seemingly unremarkable area of high pressure over Southeast Asia. It’s a rather typical heat wave, characteristic of this time of year, but pushed into record territory when added to the background of a warming world.
It’s especially difficult to get temperatures above 100 degrees in Southeast Asia due to the humidity. That makes air more resistant to warming up or cooling down. The fact that so many records were able to fall is a testament to the unprecedented nature of the air mass. It makes sense that the records are occurring in May, before the monsoon kicks in and brings deeper moisture in the summer months.
A worker handles a block of ice at a wet market during a heat wave in Bangkok on April 27. (Andre Malerba/Bloomberg)
There exists a strong link between human-induced climate change and heat waves, which are made more severe, frequent and longer in duration due to the effects of human influence. The past eight years have been the eight warmest on record globally.
Peer-reviewed research indicates that tens of thousands of excess deaths occur annually in Southeast Asia due to extreme temperatures; it’s likely that similar tolls may be accompanying this heat wave.
By Matthew Cappucci. Matthew Cappucci is a meteorologist for Capital Weather Gang. He earned a B.A. in atmospheric sciences from Harvard University in 2019, and has contributed to The Washington Post since he was 18. He is an avid storm chaser and adventurer, and covers all types of weather, climate science, and astronomy. Twitter
Here are the latest reports of extreme heat across southern Asia from today:
Here are some more “ET’s” recorded from around the planet the last couple of days, their consequences, and some extreme temperature outlooks, as well as any extreme precipitation reports:
Here is some more brand-new April 2023 climatology:
Here is more climate and weather news from Tuesday:
(As usual, this will be a fluid post in which more information gets added during the day as it crosses my radar, crediting all who have put it on-line. Items will be archived on this site for posterity. In most instances click on the pictures of each tweet to see each article. The most noteworthy items will be listed first.)
And from the Weather Department:
More notes on other science and the beauty of Earth:
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Guy Walton… “The Climate Guy”