East Asia is hit by searing 48C heatwave as temperature records tumble, schools are closed and people are told they must not go outside

East Asia is grappling with a record-breaking heatwave as sweltering 48C temperatures leave schools shut, crops damaged, and residents warned to stay indoors.

Several areas in the region have experienced scorching record-breaking temperatures as urgent health warnings are issued.

The heat in Chauk, Myanmar, hit 48.2C - the highest ever measured, whilst the Filipino capital, Manila, banked a new high of 38.8C.

Around 48,000 schools in the Philippines have also been shut for the entire week, whilst officials have urged citizens to not go outside.

Additional pressure has been put on Luzon's electricity grid, as the use of air conditioning continues to surge.

The prolonged heat also unearthed a 300-year-old Filipino town which was previously flooded in the 1970s.

The ruins of the church and tombs located in Nueva Ecija town emerged after the lake's surface dropped by 50 metres. 

According to The Times, the sky-high temperatures, which are a product of climate change, have been exacerbated by the El Niño weather event.

El Niño is a weather pattern - which happens every few years - where the temperature of the sea's surface becomes warmer, according to the Met Office.

Vietnamese agriculture has also taken a massive hit, with the country's coffee crops being impacted due to drought.

An overwhelming aroma also appeared in the nation's southern province of Dong Nai after hundreds of thousands of fish died in a dried-up lake.

In several areas of Thailand including Bangkok, temperatures have sky-rocketed past 40C.

At least 30 individuals have died from heatstroke in Thailand this year alone - a stark contrast to the 37 killed by soaring temperatures in 2023. 

Heatstroke largely poses a threat to infants, children, the elderly and people with severe underlying health issues.

In the country's southern region, railway staff have been tirelessly placing ice on the tracks in a bid to stop them becoming faulty.

In Chiang Rhai  a city located in the country's north, a motorbike spontaneously combusted on Thursday, according to Thai media.

Elsewhere in Cambodia, officials have claimed soaring temperatures contributed to an explosion which killed 20 soldiers last weekend.

'The incident of the ammunition explosion on April 27…was a technical issue because the weapons are old, faulty, and the hot weather,' the country's defence ministry told The Times.

However, it is not clear how the rise in temperature caused the incident at the army base in the Kampong Speu province.

Scorching temperatures have increased rates of dengue fever in Indonesia, with incidents rising from 15,000 annual cases to 35,000 in the last year.

Spread by infected mosquitoes, Dengue fever is a disease that can cause internal bleeding and even death according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Bangladesh and Japan have recorded their warmest April since 1986, with the average weather temperature in Japan rising by 2.76C.