Several countries across Aisa are facing extreme weather conditions, some are battling deadly heat, others are dealing with nonstop rain and flooding.
Japan recently recorded its highest temperature ever 41.8C (107F) in the city of Isesaki. Since mid June, more than 50 people have died because of heatstroke. June and July were the hottest months ever recorded in Japan.
The heat was so intense that some trains had to stop running to protect the tracks from damage. Many people are using air conditioning all day to stay safe.
In South Korea, temperatures stayed above 25C. For 22 nights in a row, people couldn’t cool down even at night. Many called emergency services due to heat related sickness. Offices allowed workers to wear light clothes to cope with the hot weather.
Vietnam also suffered, for the first time, Hanoi reacted about 40C in August. A worker in the city said, “It feels like we’re inside a frying pan.”
While some nations suffer from heat, other are drowning in rainwater.
In China, nonstop rainfall flooded large cities like Beijing and Shanghai. Landslides and power outages followed, in Guangzhou, many flights were cancelled. Health experts are now worried and concerned about diseases spread by mosquitoes, like chikungunya.
Last month, flooding at a care home in Bejing killed more than 30 elderly people, in the southern part of China, people are still on high alert for more rainfall.
In northern side of India, a sudden cloudburst caused flash flood in Uttarakhand, over 100 people are still missing.
Pakistan has also suffered badly, since June, floods have taken nearly 300 lives, including more than 100 children. Many homes are gone. In Punjab, nearly one fourth of the schools were damaged, according to British aid agency Save the Children.
In Hong Kong, over 350mm of rain fell in just one day, the highest August rainfall since 1884. Normally, the city gets about 2,400mm in an entire year.
Scientists believe climate change is making these weather events worse. Asia is heating up almost twice as fast as the global average.