State of Southasia #04: Counting the costs of another historic heatwave as Southasia braces for a scorching summer

For the first time in its recorded history, the state of Kerala in southern India experienced a heatwave this year. The heat that hit Kerala first quickly spread across India with many parts experiencing about three weeks of unrelenting heat and heatwaves declared for large swathes of the country even as people started voting in the largest general election in the world. In parts of the country, the combination of high temperature and humidity brought the experience of heat close to the understood scientific limits of human survivability.  

In fact, the whole of Southasia has been reeling under the effects of a severe heatwave very early this summer. According to one news report, at least 50 people died of heat-related ailments in Myanmar last month. April temperatures in Bangladesh have been the highest on record and heatwave conditions have caused massive wildfires to break out across Nepal, including some close to the capital Kathmandu.