"What the Climate Emergency Looks Like: Extreme Heat Busts Records Across Asia"
Hundreds of millions of people throughout Asia are suffering as a deadly heatwave turbocharged by the fossil fuel-driven climate crisis continues to pummel large swaths of the continent, with little relief in sight — reigniting calls for immediate action to slash greenhouse gas pollution.
Record-high temperatures have been observed in several Asian countries this month, including at 109 weather stations across 12 Chinese provinces on Monday. Scorching heat in India, meanwhile, has killed more than a dozen people and forced school closures this week.
Last Friday, Bangkok-based climatologist and weather historian Maximiliano Herrera described the ongoing predicament as the "worst April heatwave in Asian history." Since then, additional records have been shattered in Southeast Asia.
Over the weekend, temperatures in Thailand surpassed 45°C (113°F) for the first time in recorded history. The Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka saw its hottest day in decades when temperatures soared past 40°C (104°F) on Saturday, causing road surfaces to melt. On Monday, temperatures in Myanmar surged to 44°C (111°F), a record for April. Laos is among the latest Asian countries to set a new all-time high, reaching 42.7°C (109°F) on Tuesday.
@breadandcircuses
There is no turning back, and yet we collectively keep the pedal to the metal, belching yet more greenhouse gas each day. Folks in their 50s will see dramatic change, widespread disruption. Younger folks may well see the collapse of the world geopolitica/economic system and plummeting population - a return to the stone age. All the tech in the world can't stop the storms, floods, crop failures, water shortages.
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