Heatstroke kills 61 in Thailand this year, says health ministry

Heatstroke has killed 61 people in Thailand so far this year, more than in all of 2023, the health ministry said on Friday after weeks of scorching weather across the region.

A wave of exceptionally hot weather blasted Thailand in recent weeks, prompting authorities to issue warnings about scorching hot weather on a near-daily basis.

The health ministry said on Friday that 61 people have died from heatstroke since the beginning of 2024, compared with 37 in the whole of 2023.

Thailand’s northeast — the agricultural heartland — saw the highest number of deaths, the ministry said. Scientists have long warned human-induced climate change will produce more frequent, longer and more intense heatwaves.

While the El Nino phenomenon is helping drive this year’s exceptionally warm weather, Asia is also warming faster than the global average, according to the United Nations’ World Meteorological organisation.

Apichart Vachiraphan, deputy of Thailand’s Department of Disease Control, warned people with underlying medical conditions to limit their time outdoors.

The kingdom this year experienced a delay in its monsoon season, with sweltering hot weather lasting longer than normal. Storms have hit parts of the kingdom this week, lowering temperatures but bringing warnings from the authorities of potential flash flooding. In April, the kingdom recorded a temperature of 44.2˚C recorded in the northern province of Lampang - just shy of the all-time national record of 44.6˚C hit last year.

At least one person was killed and four others were injured after a huge fire broke out at a chemical storage tank in an Eastern Thailand industrial park on Thursday.

The fire in Mab Ta Phut Industrial Estate, which was first reported in the morning, was contained more than six hours later. Fire workers estimated it might take more than 10 hours to be able to fully extinguish the flames, according to the Rayong province’s public relations department.

About 400 workers and residents have been evacuated to a temporary shelter, the department said. Officials said the tank, which has a storage capacity of 2,500 cubic metres, belongs to the Mab Ta Phut Tank Terminal company, which operates a commercial port and storage terminal for petrochemical products.

Agencies