Record-breaking heat year, persistent and anomalous climate-driven warming affecting the mega cities of Asia cause worry

Record-Breaking Heat Waves Sweep Across the Globe

Climate change is making its presence felt more than ever, with a dangerous pattern of heat events becoming increasingly frequent and severe around the world. If the burning of fossil fuels continues unabated, this trend is expected to worsen.

In a recent study, Climate Central found that Manila and Jakarta, along with five other Asian megacities, experienced unusual heat for nearly 70 days from December 2024 to February 2025. The Southeast Asia Climate Impact Consortium, a scientific group conducting research on these unusually high temperatures, identified the Philippines and Indonesia as the countries most affected during this period. The Philippines, with a population of almost 117 million, went through 74 days of extreme warming, making it the second most heat-impacted country in Southeast Asia. Indonesia, the most populous country in the bloc, and Timor-Leste suffered sweltering weather for 72 days.

South Indian state Tamil Nadu was the Asian megacity most impacted by climate-induced heat in the three-month period, experiencing 81 days of warm temperature. Brunei Darussalam endured heat for 83 days in the same period, making it the country with the longest period of unusual warming in Southeast Asia.

The Climate Shift Index (CSI) tool, developed by Climate Central, quantifies the local influence of climate change on a country's daily temperatures. A higher CSI level indicates a greater influence of climate change detected, and heat is considered unusual if it has a recording of CSI 2 or higher. In its latest analysis, Climate Central found that at least one in five people felt a strong climate change influence every day in the same three-month period globally.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) confirmed that 2024 was the warmest year on record, with global surface temperature at 1.55°C above pre-industrial average. Each of the past 10 years were the 10 hottest years on record, according to the WMO.

The heatwaves were not limited to Southeast Asia. The Caribbean Islands and Sub-Saharan African countries like Rwanda and Liberia experienced unusual heat globally. In a previous Climate Central report that analyzed the months of June to August 2024, Brunei came in second to Maldives in terms of number of days of severe warming.

Kristina Dahl, vice president of science at Climate Central, emphasized the urgency of addressing climate change, stating, "Climate change is not a distant threat but a present reality to millions."

Despite data gaps for the months of September to November 2024, Climate Central analyzed 38 megacities with populations over 10 million for its latest report. The organization continues to monitor climate change impacts and advocates for urgent action to mitigate its effects.

Record-breaking heat year, persistent and anomalous climate-driven warming affecting the mega cities of Asia cause worry