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| Pic source: happybeingdoodles.com |
End of March, just as when I thought April would be cooler, I was totally wrong!!! April was even worse!!! (Straits Times said March 2024 was the warmest on the record - capping 10-month streak of the temperature record).
Ching ming festival (tomb sweeping day) fell on 4th April this year but few weeks before that, people had already started preparations for tomb-sweeping and ancestral worship. Usually people would offer the death some money and things as they believed that the deceased would receive it in the are world. Therefore, lots of burning happened and it would increase the heat temperature especially in South East Asia countries.
A week ago I heard the news that Thailand was facing very high temperature too, especially in Bangkok, the metropolitan city. I checked with my friend who stayed there and he said, even in Chiang Mai, where he was located at that moment, the heat did not spare the area. 40 degree celsius was not enough, there was air pollution too as there was wildfire nearby the area.
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| Pic source: Accuweather - Strait Times |
And since the beginning of the April, everyone here could feel the heat too. Many news were reported, from the very high level of UV in the island and what to do with it, to the extreme heat or heatwave that was going on in South East Asia countries (the above picture was posted only 2 days ago).
From the personal experience, this was like a living hell. I mean, I was usually the type of person that could bear the normal heat. I mean, it was common to face 30 plus degree temperature in a country like Singapore and I was born in Jakarta and stayed there for seventeen years, so it was not a very big deal.
But now, it was really becoming so much unbearable!!! I used to have a morning walk in MacRitchie Reservoir because despite the sun, there were trees covering most of the hiking trails. Only when came out, then there was not much protection from the sun. I went once sometimes in March and I found that the heat was too much. The water that I usually brought and topped up, was not enough to cool down my body. That was why I had stopped going, especially when the news reported that March's temperature was breaking the records high.
Until towards end of April, I thought, this was not the way. No matter what, I still had to have some exercise. So my brain had some thinking. Hahaha... Perhaps it was not on much use earlier :P Lol. Then why not just walk around where I stayed??? It was a blessing to live in area like this. It was not far from the man-made river and park, but at least, there was such a place.
I thought of cycling in the evening. I finished work quite early and could reach home by 6pm. However, the sun was still shining bright at 6pm and the heat was still felt emerging from the asphalt cover. I did not think it was a good idea. I was even wondering why people was still going for jog in such hour. First heat, and second, the carbon monoxide produced by the trees when the night appeared.
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| One of my morning walk/run |
And when I had difficulty to sleep after waking up for pee at dawn, so I thought, why not I go for walk early in the morning before I started my day? And that solved my problem. So now, when I woke up at 6am, I got up and moved my body around the neighborhood. The earlier the better. Like to start before 6am was better as there would be lesser people, lesser noise, but the sky was darker, sometimes could be eerie when you were the only one there, but I had to finish and went back home before 7am as I had to leave to work by 8am. I loved it!!! During weekend, I gave myself longer time and route to go plus breakfast date with my hubby. It was perfect!!!
But afternoon and evening time were still unbearable. Even when I lie down on my bed with wall fan blowing towards me, or when I watched TV sitting on the sofa with ceiling fan blowing from the top, my body was wet from all the sweat, as if the heat could penetrate all over the house. And it was not me who felt it this way. It was for everyone. Everyone complained about the heat.
My office centralized air conditioner was very cold (I even had to wear jacket inside the office). But when I went out for a walk after lunch, wahhhh.... the sun was burning, I could feel the heat penetrated underneath my skin. Often times I chose to take the lift and walk through underpass (went for a longer route) rather than crossing the traffic light in front of me directly under the sun. I think, even in such few meter distance and seconds, the UV light could harm the skin.
The air, it was hot too!!! Suffocating!!!
And with the flow of cold and hot air in and out the building, people were easily getting sick. Flu, cough, and fever. You could see many people wearing masks especially when commuting in public transports like MRT and bus.
Water! We had to drink much water, enough to take back all the sweat that we expelled from our body.
I have no idea how long more we have to endure such heat. I really miss the Covid time, when people could not travel and just stay within their country where they were. With less emission from the planes, factories, cars, and so on, the world was cooler and healthier. I do not know what the world will become. If this kind of weather went on all the time, where human being would stay???
