‘Uncharted territory’: How Asia is coping with extreme heat

On a small vegetable farm in Lal-lo town in the northern Philippine province of Cagayan, Eduardo Pamittan starts his day before dawn. Since April, the middle-aged farmer has been trying to finish all his work between 4 a.m. and 10 a.m., before the late morning sun and humidity become “unbearable.” 

“I have to wake up so early each day,” he says. “It is really unsafe to work under the unrelenting heat.” 

And unrelenting it is, as record-breaking heat waves continue to grip much of southern Asia. On May 12, the...