Bangladesh blackouts magnify heat wave linked to climate change

Forex shortage further reduces electricity generation, frustrating residents

20230609 bangladesh heat

A man drinks lemonade from a street vendor during a heat wave compounded by power cuts in Dhaka on June 6. © Reuters

SHEIKH SABIHA ALAM, Contributing writer

DHAKA -- Bangladesh's tight finances and worsening power shortages have exacerbated the effects of a heat wave that swept South and Southeast Asia in recent weeks, highlighting anew how some of the countries hardest hit by climate change are also the least equipped to deal with it.

Mild to moderate rainfall brought relief to parts of Bangladesh on Thursday as a monsoon advanced toward the coast. But the country has faced what officials said was the longest June hot spell in 44 years, after crippling heat over the past two months. Some districts recently logged temperatures around 41 C.

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