Extreme Heat and “Big Cars”

Phnom Penh's four-faced river during a sunny afternoon.

While walking in Phnom Penh under a blazing sun, I had in mind news stories published over the last week in the international press regarding the heatwave currently affecting Southeast Asia.   



With temperatures around 40 degrees Celsius, Thailand, the Philippines and Myanmar are facing a critical situation. This heat wave is also knocking out Cambodia where, in the countryside, the elders say they have never seen such a drought.  



Of course, the month of April is always the hottest month in the region. And, this year, the El Nino phenomenon has amplified this heat peak.



So, nothing really out of the ordinary, one might say.





Caption: Commuters in Phnom Penh commuting out of work under the Kbal Thnal overpass.



However, in Asia, those heatwaves are becoming more and more severe, according to a press release on the “State of the Climate in Asia 2023” issued by the United Nations’ World Meteorological Organization (WMO). “Asia remained the world’s most disaster-hit region from weather, climate and water-related hazards in 2023,” the WMO stated. “Floods and storms caused the highest number of reported casualties and economic losses.



“Asia is warming faster than the global average,” the WMO said, according to the press release. “The warming trend has nearly doubled since the 1961–1990 period.”



So, if El Nino is worsening the heat wave, this is first and foremost an effect of global warming attributable to human activity as experts in climatology have proclaimed for years.





Caption: People and their motorbikes seek shelter under a huge tree in front of the Terrace of the Elephants, Angkor Park, Siem Reap province.



As I made my way in-between cars, one more imposing than the other and, in many cases, brand new—SUVs, pickup trucks, heavy-duty sedans—with that information in mind, I thought these vehicle owners obviously don’t pay much attention to global warming.  



Because those colossal vehicles guzzle gasoline of fossil origin whose combustion is known to definitely contribute to global warming.



It’s true that in those big cars with air conditioning, one does not suffer from excessive heat. Their owners no doubt live in homes or apartments with good and, therefore, energy-intensive air conditioning systems. In short, they are not really affected by the heatwave.  



On the global scale, Cambodia can consider not to be responsible for global warming first attributable to developed countries, and fulminate that the country is among the most exposed to its dramatic consequences.



But this does not exonerate from contributing to the global fight against rising temperatures by promoting a less energy-intensive lifestyle and less consumerist values. To stop thinking that the height of social success boils down to a “big car,” wouldn’t that be a good start?





Caption: Cars roam the street of Sihanoukville province during a national holiday.


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