Bangkok under extreme heat warning

BANGKOK: Authorities in Thailand issued an extreme heat warning for Bangkok on Wednesday, urging people to stay indoors for their own safety as temperatures soared.

The mercury was forecast to hit 39 degrees Celsius in the sprawling Thai capital, while the heat index rose above 52 C, classed as “extremely dangerous” by city authorities.

The heat index is a measure of what the temperature feels like, taking humidity, wind speed and other factors into account.

“Warning: the heat index today is ‘extremely dangerous.’ Please avoid activities outdoors,” the Bangkok city authority’s environment department wrote on a Facebook post. “The heat index is classed as extremely dangerous when it goes above 52 C.”

April is typically the hottest and most humid time of the year in Thailand, but conditions this year have been exacerbated by the El Niño weather pattern.

The Southeast Asian kingdom has sweltered through a heat wave this week, with a temperature of 44.2 C recorded in the northern province of Lampang on Monday, just shy of the all-time national record of 44.6 C.

The hot weather is expected to continue in the coming days, and the government has urged people to stay hydrated, apply sunscreen and exercise indoors to avoid heat stroke.

Global temperatures hit record highs last year, and the United Nations World Meteorological Organization said on Tuesday that Asia was warming at a particularly rapid pace.