Jakarta – The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said on Thursday that the rise in temperature affecting some cities in Indonesia was not part of a heat wave currently sweeping much of the Southeast Asian region.
Deputy head of the BMKG, Guswanto, said although the rise in temperature in a number of cities in Indonesia had been consistent in the past five days, it could not be categorized as a heat wave.
"If we look into the characteristics of the phenomenon as well as the statistical indicators based on temperature observation then it doesn't fall into the category of a heat wave. It doesn't meet the criteria," said Guswanto as quoted by Antara.
Guswanto said the rising temperature in Indonesia was instead the result of the relative angle of the sun, which affects the amount of sunlight striking the earth.
Large swaths of Southeast Asia are sweltering through a heat wave that has topped temperature records from Myanmar to the Philippines and forced millions of children to stay home from school.
Thai authorities have issued warnings about "severe conditions", while authorities in Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, India and Bangladesh all forecast temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius.
The Philippines and Bangladesh both suspended in-person classes, while India is reviewing whether heat has affected turnout in the national elections.
Even northern Japan has been affected: temperatures in Japan's Sapporo this month passed 25 degrees C at the earliest point of any year on record.
Experts have said climate change is causing more frequent heat waves that are more intense and last longer.
The El Nino weather phenomenon has also played a role in bringing more heat to the Asian region this year.