AP PHOTOS: South and Southeast Asian countries cope with a weekslong heat wave

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Parking attendant Andy Tinto uses laundry clips to put a blue towel over his cap to protect himself from the sun in Manila, Philippines on Monday, April 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

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Women use scarves to shield themselves from the sun on a hot day in Hyderabad, India, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)

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A woman drinks water from a public tap near the River Ganges on a hot summer day in Prayagraj, India, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)

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A man pours water from a pipe over himself on a hot day in Manila, Philippines, Friday, April 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

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Women sip cool drinks as little girls wait for their turn at a roadside stall in Kolkata, India, Friday, May 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Bikas Das)

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A man delivers a sack of ice cubes as demand remains high due to hot weather in Quezon city, Philippines on Wednesday, April 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

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A rickshaw puller sleeps in the shade of a tree on a hot summer afternoon in Guwahati, India, Friday, May 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

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Cambodian garment workers stand on a back truck, wearing scarfs and caps to protect from the hot sun, after a day’s work outside Phnom Penh Cambodia, Monday, April 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

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A cat rests in an empty hallway as classes shift to online mode due to the hot weather at the Justo Lukban Elementary School in Manila, Philippines on Monday, April 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

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A woman covers a child using a part of her sari to shield from the sun on a hot summer day in Hyderabad, India, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)

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People shop for earthen water vessels, known locally as poor man’s refrigerator, from a roadside vendor in Hyderabad, India, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)

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A man bathes at a public water tap near the River Ganges during a hot summer day in Prayagraj, India. Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)

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A schoolgirl takes a drink on a hot summer day in Lucknow, India, Friday, May 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)

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Motorcyclists stop in the shade of a skytrain line on a hot day in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, May 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

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A laborer sleeps on a handcart in the shade of a tree during a hot summer day in Mumbai, India, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

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A man pours water on his daughter on a hot summer day in Manila, Philippines on Friday, April 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

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Women sit in Juhu beach holding umbrellas to protect themselves from the sun on a hot summer day in Mumbai, India, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

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A boy plays in the Arabian Sea on a hot summer day in Mumbai, India, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

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Schoolchildren eat ice lollies sitting on a scooter on a hot summer day in Lucknow, India, Friday, May 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)

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A pedestrian holds an umbrella to protect from the sun in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, May 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

South and Southeast Asian countries have been coping with a weekslong heat wave rendering record high temperatures that have posed a severe health risk.

Umbrellas to shield against blazing sunlight are popular, air-conditioned malls are serving as urban oases, and schools in Cambodia have been cutting back their hours. In the Philippines, India and Bangladesh, officials have told students to stay home and do their lessons remotely.

In April, the United Nations Children’s Fund warned that the sweltering weather could put millions of children’s lives at risk and asked caregivers to take extra precautions.

A UNICEF statement said that in the Asia-Pacific region, “around 243 million children are exposed to hotter and longer heatwaves, putting them at risk of a multitude of heat-related illnesses, and even death.”

The advice everywhere for everyone? Avoid outdoor activities and drink plenty of water.

Meteorologists in Cambodia say the country is facing its hottest temperatures in 170 years, reaching as high as 43 degrees Celsius (109 degrees Fahrenheit).

In Myanmar, weather experts said some parts of the country experienced record high temperatures in the past week. Several towns were included on lists of the hottest spots worldwide in April, in at least one case surpassing 48.2 C (118.8 F).

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Parts of eastern India experienced their hottest April on record as a heat wave scorched the region amid a general election.

The recorded highs reflect only air temperature, the historical measure for hot and cold weather. They don’t factor in the debilitating effects of humidity, which can make it feel even hotter.

The Thai capital Bangkok has touched 40 C (104 F), but the heat index reportedly topped 50 C (122 F).

Cities such as Bangkok constitute urban heat islands, where the temperatures are hotter than in the surrounding countryside because of the mass of buildings and concrete that trap and retain heat.

Benjamin Horton, director of the Earth Observatory of Singapore where natural phenomena such as climate change are studied, said there are three causal factors for heat waves: El Nino, a naturally occurring climate phenomenon; an increase in global temperatures; and human-induced climate change.

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