Vietnam hits record-breaking temperature of 44C degree

11:21 AM May 08, 2023 IST | Ground report

Vietnam recently recorded its highest-ever temperature of just over 44 °C (111 °F), leading experts to predict that this record will soon be broken due to the effects of climate change.

The record was set in the northern province of Thanh Hoa, where authorities warned people to stay indoors during the hottest hours of the day.

Other countries in the region have also been experiencing extremely high temperatures, with Thailand reporting a record temperature of 44.6°C in its western Mak province, and Myanmar media reporting that a city in the east had recorded a temperature of 43.8 °C, the highest in a decade.

In Hanoi, climate change expert Nguyen Ngoc Huy called Vietnam’s new record ‘worrying’ and predicted it would be repeated many times over.

He added that this confirmed the accuracy of the extreme weather models. The world has already experienced 1.1°C warming since the industrial age began, and temperatures will continue to rise unless governments take action to reduce emissions.

Workers in the central Vietnamese city of Danang are feeling the effects of extreme heat, where farmer Nguyen Thi Lan said the heat was forcing them to start earlier than ever and finish by 10:00.

In Bangladesh, the capital Dhaka recorded its hottest temperature since the 1960s, and Indian authorities said some parts of the country were experiencing temperatures three to four degrees above normal. In April, Spain also experienced the highest temperature for that month.

The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recently warned that ‘every increase in global warming will intensify multiple and co-occurring hazards,’ predicting that the world is likely to miss its target of avoiding temperature increases of more than 1.5°C. in the 2030s.