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The meteorological agency of Bangladesh announced on Wednesday that the previous month had been the hottest April on record, with the country and much of the region enduring a prolonged heatwave.
Extensive scientific research indicates that climate change is leading to longer, more frequent, and more intense heatwaves. The severe heat in April prompted the Bangladesh government to close schools nationwide, affecting approximately 32 million students.
"This year, the heatwave affected around 80 percent of the country. We have never experienced such prolonged and widespread heatwaves before," said Muhammad Abul Kalam Mallik, a senior forecaster at the Bangladesh Meteorological Department.
According to Mallik, last month was the hottest April in Bangladesh since records began in 1948, both in terms of high temperatures and area coverage. Weather stations across Bangladesh recorded average daily maximum temperatures between two and eight degrees Celsius higher than the 33.2-degree Celsius (91.8-degree Fahrenheit) average for April over a 30-year period ending in 2010.
The intense heat has led to at least 11 heatstroke-related deaths in the past 10 days, according to Health Department spokesman Selim Raihan.
Rainfall is expected to bring some relief to Bangladesh starting Thursday, following a week of scorching temperatures that saw Dhaka experience several days above 40 degrees Celsius.
Mallik noted that the absence of the usual pre-monsoon April thunderstorms, which typically cool the country before summer, exacerbated the severity of the heat. On average, Bangladesh receives 130.2 millimeters of rain in April, but this April saw only one millimeter of rain on average.
The government has extended the closure of schools until Sunday, following reports that several teachers had died in the heatwave. Thousands of people gathered at mosques and in open fields across the nation last week to pray for rain, with many expressing the unbearable conditions caused by the lack of rainfall.
Mahfuzur Rahman, a cigarette stall owner in Dhaka, described the past week as "unbearable," saying, "Some days were so hot that it felt like my head was spinning. I can't concentrate, and I feel drowsy. But I have to sell enough to make at least some money."
Large parts of South and Southeast Asia are experiencing a heatwave, setting temperature records from Myanmar to the Philippines. Weather agencies in Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, and India have all forecast temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).
The El Nino phenomenon is also contributing to this year's exceptionally warm weather. The months leading up to the region's monsoon season are typically hot, but temperatures this year are well above average in many countries. Asia is warming faster than the global average, according to the UN's World Meteorological Organization.