Scorching heatwave shuts schools, triggers health crisis across Asia

Rising temperatures have prompted a series of health alerts across South and Southeast Asia. While countries such as Bangladesh and the Philippines have ordered school shutdowns, others such as Indonesia a facing a spike in dengue fever cases.

A Bangladeshi court on Monday ordered schools across the the cpuntry to shut due the heatwave, a day after they were reopened by the government.

"The High Court bench of Justice Kamrul Kader and Justice Khizir Hayat passed a suo moto order closing all primary and secondary schools and madrasas until Thursday due to the heatwave," deputy attorney general Sheikh Saifuzzaman told AFP. The temperature in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka hovered near 40 degrees Celsius on Monday.

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The Philippines has closed schools down and warned of overloading on its power grid, Reuters reported Temperatures in the Philippines are forecast to reach 37 degrees Celsius in the next three days.

In Thailand, temperatures are forecast to surpass 40 degrees Celsius in Bangkok and the country's central and northern regions with the meteorological agency advising people to avoid being outdoors for extended periods.

People are seeking respite from the heat in air-conditioned shopping malls in Vietnam's business hub Ho Chi Minh City, state media reported, with the country's national weather agency warning of risks of forest fires, dehydration, and heat shock.

Also read: Heatwave hits parts of India not usually associated with such weather

Maximum temperatures measured in several parts of northern and central Vietnam ranged from 40.2 and 44.0 degree Celsius the agency said on Sunday, adding that temperatures won't subside until Wednesday.

Malaysia's meteorological department issued hot weather warnings on Sunday for 16 areas that have recorded temperatures between 35 and 40 degrees Celsius for three consecutive days.

In Singapore, the meteorological service said the country's temperatures could soar higher in 2024 than last year, which was Singapore's fourth-warmest year since records began in 1929.

Meanwhile, warmer temperatures in Southeast Asia's most populated nation of Indonesia are driving a surge in cases of dengue fever, a mosquito-borne infection, with cases more than doubling to 35,000 from 15,000 a year earlier, the health ministry has said.

(Reuters and AFP contributed to this report)

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