'Everyone sits out': Yangon parks offer heatwave relief for many city folk

Children play in a park during an electricity blackout in Yangon on April 26, 2024. As the sun sets on another scorching Yangon day, the hot and bothered descend on the Myanmar city's parks, the coolest place to spend an evening during yet another power blackout. For many in the city of some eight million, relief comes only at night and outdoors with the metropolis' parks offering natural shade and blissful breezes. - AFP

YANGON (AFP): As the sun sets on another scorching Yangon day, the hot and bothered descend on the Myanmar city's parks, the coolest place to spend an evening during yet another power blackout.

A wave of exceptionally hot weather has blasted Southeast Asia this week, sending the mercury to 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) and prompting thousands of schools to suspend in-person classes.