Indonesia not affected by heatwave across Southeast Asia: Expert

The rise in temperature affecting some cities in Indonesia was not part of a heat wave currently sweeping much of the Southeast Asian region, Deputy head of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) of Indonesia Guswanto has said.

Speaking at a press conference on May 3, Guswanto said although the rise in temperature in a number of Indonesian cities had been consistent over the past five days, it could not be categorised as a heat wave.

According to the expert, large swaths of Southeast Asia are sweltering through a heat wave that has topped temperature records from Myanmar to the Philippines and forced millions of children to stay home from school.

Thai authorities have issued warnings about "severe conditions", while authorities in Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, India, and Bangladesh all forecast temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius, he added.

Experts have said climate change is causing more frequent heat waves that are more intense and last longer. The El Nino weather phenomenon has also played a role in bringing more heat to the Asian region this year.

During the last week, an extreme heatwave has swept through many areas in South and Southeast Asia, disrupting daily life and posing health threats to people./.

VNA