In Laos, peaks of 42.7°C and 41.4°C were recorded in Luang Prabang and Vientiane, the capital, respectively. Unheard of so far in these two cities. In Thailand, a government monitoring station in Tak, northwest of the country, also recorded a temperature of 44.6°C. Based on Guardian, the mercury even rose to 45.6°C, breaking a record in this area. However, the last sign is not taken into account in official statistics.
A little further north, in Bangladesh, temperatures hit 40.6°C in Dhaka, the highest since 1960. Hundreds of people have gathered in this country on the front lines of global warming to pray for rain, AFP reports. “They are also praying for temperatures to drop, and protection from heatwaves”said Abul Kalam Azad, a local police chief.
Very high peaks were also observed in Myanmar (44.5°C in Bagan), Vietnam (42.8°C in Muon La) and Nepal (42.4°C in Bhairawa) on April 18, according to a climatologist that identifies temperature extremes. On April 19, the mercury also rose to 41.9°C in China and 44.5°C in India, where thirteen people died of heat stroke Sunday during an outdoor ceremony.
