April's scorching heatwaves searing across Asian countries, including Bangladesh, India, Laos, Thailand and others, were made "at least 30 times more likely" due to the man-made climate crisis, said an international team of leading climate scientists as part of the World Weather Attribution group on Wednesday.
Asia is also highly vulnerable as the heat wave has amplified the impact.
In April, parts of South and Southeast Asia experienced an extreme heatwave, with record-breaking temperatures that soared to 42ºC in Laos and 45°C in Thailand.
The heatwaves in India, Bangladesh and Thailand caused hospitalizations, damaged roads, closure of schools and fires in many regions of these countries.
Although the number of heatwave-related fatalities in these regions remains inconclusive, 11 people in India's Maharashtra perished in a rally due to the extreme heat, and two people died in Thailand. The researchers conclude that climate change made the humid heatwave at least 30 times more likely, with temperatures at least two degrees Celsius hotter than they would have been without climate change.
In Bangladesh and India, events like the recent heatwave used to occur less than once a century on average. Now, however, it can be expected once every five years.
In Laos and Thailand, scientists discovered that an event like the recent record-setting hot weather would have been nearly impossible without the influence of climate change, and it is still a very unusual event that can only be expected around once in 200 years, even with the influence of man-made climate change.
Twenty-two researchers conducted the study as part of the World Weather Attribution initiative, including scientists from universities and meteorological agencies in India, Thailand, Australia, Denmark, France, Germany, Kenya, the Netherlands, the UK, and the United States.
Speaking about the study, Dr Chandra Sekhar Bahinipati, from India's premier institute – IIT Tirupati, said, "Even after identifying vulnerable regions, there is a lack of knowledge in comprehending who is vulnerable, [as well as] loss and damage estimation, household coping mechanisms, and the most effective heat action plans. Other economic and non-economic loss and damage indicators are not documented, except for human casualties. This creates a shortage in assessing the extent of risk, who is vulnerable, and operationalizing any adaptation planning."
Emmanuel Raju, Director of the Copenhagen Centre for Disaster Research at the University of Copenhagen, said: "This is another disaster highlighting the need to reduce vulnerability and think deeper about the limits of adaptation. As it often happens, marginalized people are the worst affected. Many are still recovering from the pandemic and past heatwaves and cyclones, which leaves them trapped in a vicious cycle. Implementing mitigation and adaptation strategies is fundamental to avoid visible and invisible loss and damage".