Overheated Classrooms
In a cramped classroom, 50 teenagers try to focus. One of the two ceiling fans is broken, and standing fans reach only a few students.
"Imagine all 50 of us sharing those few fans. It's like being outside in a scorching summer day, but the heat lasts from morning till night," said Heart Cona, an 11th-grader in General Santos City, Philippines, where a brutal heatwave has pushed temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).
The 17-year-old described the heat as "draining." "Standing in the shade doesn't help much because the air around you is filled with heat, too."
Across South and Southeast Asia, a weeks-long heatwave has closed schools (Pictured: Illustration), killed dozens, and is rewriting climate history in the region.
Heart and her classmates are not alone in battling headaches and heatstroke. The heat has also thrown their education into "chaos," with in-person classes frequently canceled due to the scorching temperatures.
The Philippines is not an isolated case, analysts say. Across South and Southeast Asia, a weeks-long heatwave has closed schools, killed dozens, and is rewriting climate history in the region.
"Hundreds of records have fallen across Asia. We are witnessing the unprecedented in three centuries of climate records," wrote Maximiliano Herrera, a climatologist and weather historian, on X (formerly Twitter).
'Absolutely Insane'
Records are tumbling left and right. Parts of Laos have hit a new high of 43.2 degrees Celsius (109.7 degrees Fahrenheit), while Myanmar has seen temperatures exceed 44 degrees Celsius (111.2 degrees Fahrenheit).
In Thailand, it has been "absolutely insane," with records "shattering every other day," said Herrara. The northern province of Lampang recorded a maximum of 44.2 degrees Celsius (111.5 degrees Fahrenheit), and temperatures climbed above 43 degrees Celsius (109.4 degrees Fahrenheit) in 16 other provinces.
But temperature alone does not capture the intensity of the weather. Humidity must also be factored in, which affects the heat index, or what the temperature feels like to the human body. When humidity is high, it is much harder for our bodies to cool down because it impedes the evaporation of sweat. This can lead to exhaustion, heatstroke, and death.
Heat cramps and exhaustion can occur at a heat index of 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), while over 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) is considered "extremely dangerous" and can lead to heatstroke. The elderly are particularly vulnerable, as their internal body temperature regulation system is less efficient than that of younger individuals.
In the Philippines, where the government has suspended in-person classes in 47,000 schools, the heat index hit 53 degrees Celsius (127.4 degrees Fahrenheit) in the city of Iba on April 28.
Meanwhile, in Bangkok, where shopping malls with air conditioning and umbrella-wielding street vendors provide some relief, the heat index reached a searing 52 degrees Celsius (125.6 degrees Fahrenheit) this week.
"The entire Indo-Pacific region is in a pressure cooker," said Dr. Roxy Koll, a climate scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology.
Professor Theepakorn Jithitikulchai, an economist and climate expert at Thammasat University in Bangkok, explained that while April is typically a hot month in the region, this year's El Nino weather pattern has "pushed temperatures to record highs."
"El Nino has also contributed to less rainfall, which could lead to droughts," he added.
According to the World Meteorological Organization's latest report, released last month, Asia is warming faster than the global average - almost twice as fast as between 1961-1990. The agency added that the continent has had "the highest number of human casualties from weather, climate, and water-related hazards in 2023."
"The world, including Southeast Asia, is ill-prepared for the impacts that are coming. A massive collective effort is needed to put in place the systems that will manage the impacts of climate change," said Nicholas Rees, chief of climate change at UNICEF's East Asia and Pacific Regional Office in Bangkok.
Widening Inequality
With limited resources and finance to tackle these issues, there are concerns that infrastructure in many areas will struggle to cope. Moreover, the heat will also exacerbate existing inequalities.
While the affluent work in air-conditioned offices, study in cooled schools, and live in air-conditioned homes, such comforts are not available or unaffordable for the poor.
"I've never experienced anything like this before. It feels like I'm sitting in front of a hair dryer on high heat," said Ann, 51, who sells lottery tickets on a busy Phahonyothin Road in western Bangkok. With two children at home, she has no choice but to work in the scorching heat.
"It's really difficult to sit here all day in this heat," she said, fanning herself with a colorful cloth fan.
Extreme heat has also been shown to slow down cognitive function. In a 2020 study in the U.S., researchers found that students performed worse on standardized tests if they were exposed to higher temperatures in the year leading up to the exam.
Climate Change Will 'Further Widen Achievement Gap'
The study concluded that each additional degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) hotter school year reduced learning by 1% that year - an impact that could be almost entirely eliminated if schools had air conditioning.
"Climate change is going to further widen the achievement gap between hot and cool countries," said Josh Goodman, an economist at Boston University and co-author of the study.
Jay-Em Estrella, a science teacher at a private school in Quezon City, Philippines, agrees wholeheartedly. While his classes have air conditioning and are coping, the situation is far worse in public schools that rely on fans. He is worried about the long-term impact on children's development.
"We're just recovering from lockdowns... and now classes are being disrupted again. The education system has already taken a hit, and this heat is like adding more dents to a car that's already been scratched," Estrella said.