Vietnam has reported a record-high temperature of 44.1C (111.

38F), as weather experts and authorities told

the population to remain indoors during the hottest parts of the day.

Scientists have said global warming is aggravating adverse weather. Neighbouring countries registered
record temperatures during a heatwave in Asia in April.

Vietnam’s record was measured indoors at Hoi Xuan station in northern Thanh Hoa province on Saturday,
the National Centre for Hydro Meteorological Forecasting said, breaking the 2019 record of 43.4C.

Nguyen Thi Lan, a farmer, said temperatures in the central city of Danang had forced workers to start their
days earlier than ever. “We have had to finish before 10am to avoid the heat,” she said.

Vietnam’s weather varies from north to south, but the country as a whole is now entering its hottest summer
months.

“This is a worrying record in the context of climate change and global warming,” Nguyen Ngoc Huy, a
climate change expert, said from the capital, Hanoi. “I believe this record will be repeated many times. It
confirms that extreme climate models are being proven to be true.”

Danang officials have asked Vietnam’s industry and electricity ministries to “cooperate to effectively deal
with the heat, possible drought and lack of water,” according to state media.

Officials have also told the city’s water supply company to ensure there are adequate supplies of water for
domestic use.

Further west, Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, recorded its highest temperature since the 1960s.

Indian weather authorities said parts of the country were experiencing temperatures roughly three to four
degrees above normal.

A report from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said recently that “every increment of
global warming will intensify multiple and concurrent hazards”.

Vietnam’s president has resigned after days of rumours he was about to be sacked as part of an anti-
corruption drive that has led to several ministers being fired, according to state media reports.

Nguyen Xuan Phuc has “submitted his resignation from his assigned positions, quit his job and retired”, the
VNA said.

Phuc’s sudden departure is an unusual move in communist Vietnam, where political changes are normally
carefully orchestrated, with an emphasis on cautious stability.

State media said the Communist party had ruled he was responsible for wrongdoing by senior ministers
under him during his 2016-21 stint as prime minister, before he became president.

Two deputy prime ministers were sacked this month in an anti-corruption purge that has led to the arrest of
dozens of officials, with many of the allegations relating to deals done as part of Vietnam’s Covid response.

Phuc “took political responsibility as leader when several officials, including two deputy prime ministers
and three ministers committed violations and shortcomings, causing very serious consequences”, the VNA
said, quoting the party central committee’s official statement.

The country’s national assembly removed Pham Binh Minh and Vu Duc Dam from their positions as deputy
prime ministers this month.
Minh was a minister of foreign affairs and Dam was in charge of the country’s handling of the pandemic.

At least 100 officials and businesspeople, including Dam’s assistant, have been arrested in connection with a
scandal involving the distribution of Covid testing kits.

Thirty-seven people, many of them senior diplomats and police, have also been arrested in an investigation
over the repatriation of Vietnamese people during the pandemic.

After closing its borders to slow the spread of the virus, Vietnam organised almost 800 charter flights to
bring citizens home from 60 countries and territories.

But travellers faced complicated procedures while paying exorbitant air fares and quarantine fees to get back
to Vietnam.

Phuc was elevated to the largely ceremonial role of president in April 2021 after winning plaudits for the
country’s broadly successful handling of the Covid crisis.

Authoritarian Vietnam is run by the Communist party and officially led by the party general secretary,
president and prime minister, with big decisions made by the the now 16-member politburo.

Le Hong Hiep, a fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, said Phuc’s resignation may also
be linked to political infighting.

“It’s mainly related to corruption investigations but we cannot rule out the possibility that his political rivals
also wanted to remove him from his position for political reasons,” he told Agence France-Presse.

The Communist party leader, Nguyen Phu Trong, the architect of what is Vietnam’s largest anti-corruption
drive, is due to step down in 2026.

“Some politicians will try to get the (top) prize and because of the competition from their rivals, in this case
Mr Phuc is one of them, they may want to remove him to clear the way for the other candidate to get the top
job.”

Nguyen Thi Lan, a farmer, said temperatures in the central city of Danang had forced workers to start their
days earlier than ever. “We have had to finish before