- Hawaii's Kilauea volcano erupts, spewing columns of lava
- El Salvador Congress votes to end ban on metal mining
- Five things to know about Panama Canal, in Trump's sights
- NBA fines Minnesota guard Edwards $75,000 for outburst
- Haitians massacred for practicing voodoo were abducted, hacked to death: UN
- Inter beat Como to keep in touch with leaders Atalanta
- Man Utd boss Amorim questions 'choices' of Rashford's entourage
- Trump's TikTok love raises stakes in battle over app's fate
- Is he serious? Trump stirs unease with Panama, Greenland ploys
- England captain Stokes to miss three months with torn hamstring
- Support grows for Blake Lively over smear campaign claim
- Canada records 50,000 opioid overdose deaths since 2016
- Jordanian, Qatari envoys hold talks with Syria's new leader
- France's second woman premier makes surprise frontline return
- France's Macron announces fourth government of the year
- Netanyahu tells Israel parliament 'some progress' on Gaza hostage deal
- Guatemalan authorities recover minors taken by sect members
- Germany's far-right AfD holds march after Christmas market attack
- Serie A basement club Monza fire coach Nesta
- Mozambique top court confirms ruling party disputed win
- Syrian medics say were coerced into false chemical attack testimony
- NASA solar probe to make its closest ever pass of Sun
- London toy 'shop' window where nothing is for sale
- Volkswagen boss hails cost-cutting deal but shares fall
- Accused killer of US insurance CEO pleads not guilty to 'terrorist' murder
- Global stock markets mostly higher
- Not for sale. Greenland shrugs off Trump's new push
- Acid complicates search after deadly Brazil bridge collapse
- Norwegian Haugan dazzles in men's World Cup slalom win
- Arsenal's Saka out for 'many weeks' with hamstring injury
- Mali singer Traore child custody case postponed
- France mourns Mayotte victims amid uncertainy over government
- UK economy stagnant in third quarter in fresh setback
- African players in Europe: Salah leads Golden Boot race after brace
- German far-right AfD to march in city hit by Christmas market attack
- Ireland centre Henshaw signs IRFU contract extension
- Bangladesh launches $5bn graft probe into Hasina's family
- US probes China chip industry on 'anticompetitive' concerns
- Biden commutes sentences for 37 of 40 federal death row inmates
- Clock ticks down on France government nomination
- Mozambique on edge as judges rule on disputed election
- Mobile cinema brings Tunisians big screen experience
- Honda and Nissan to launch merger talks
- Police arrest suspect who set woman on fire in New York subway
- China vows 'cooperation' over ship linked to severed Baltic Sea cables
- Australian tennis star Purcell provisionally suspended for doping
- Luxury Western goods line Russian stores, three years into sanctions
- Wallace and Gromit return with comic warning about AI dystopia
- Philippine military says will acquire US Typhon missile system
- Afghan bread, the humble centrepiece of every meal
'Have to be outside': Thai delivery riders swelter in heatwave
In Bangkok's central Siam Square, Suriyan Wongwan sweats while he waits to collect the food that he will deliver by motorbike as Thailand bakes through a heatwave.
"I'm afraid of getting heatstroke," the 51-year-old told AFP as the mercury hit 37 degrees Celsius (99 degrees Fahrenheit), with humidity pushing the "real feel" to a sticky 43C (109F).
Large swathes of Southeast Asia are struggling through a heatwave that has broken temperature records and forced millions of children to stay home as schools close across the region.
Experts say climate change makes heatwaves more frequent, longer and more intense, while the El Nino phenomenon is also driving this year's exceptionally warm weather.
Among those hit hardest are workers whose jobs require them to be outdoors all day, such as the motorbike drivers who deliver food and offer taxi rides through Bangkok's traffic-choked streets.
"My self-protection is to drink more water, so I can carry myself and not pass out," Suriyan said.
"In hot weather like this, I drink whenever I park my bike."
The air-conditioned malls from where he collects his deliveries offer some respite, but he also worries the rapid change in temperature risks making him sick.
Isara Sangmol is one of the city's legion of "win motosai" -- motorbike taxi drivers -- and has been on the job since he was 17.
These days he drinks four or five bottles of water a day to stay hydrated -- double his normal intake.
"We need to get enough sleep to work, otherwise the heat would affect our body and our health," the 48-year-old told AFP as he sipped water from a tumbler.
He waits for customers in the early afternoon at a motorbike stand that offers some shade.
"If it gets too hot for me, I can take off my orange 'win' jacket (worn by motorbike taxi drivers) and go inside the mall to cool down," he said.
He switched up his clothing for lighter fabrics that are more breathable, but driving a motorbike means he needs to wear long trousers and proper shoes.
Seksith Prasertpong has been delivering food for the Line Man appfor the past two years and said the heat "makes my job harder".
"I have to wash my face more often,go to the toiletand drink cold water regularly," the 38-year-old told AFP during a break.
Though the heat eases later in the day, Seksith said changing his working hours is not an option.
"Our rate is low. But the more we work, the more we earn," he said.
He would like to see incentives for drivers during hot weather, as is currently the case during heavy downpours when delivery rates are increased.
Suriyan also thinks rates ought to be raised to reflect the difficulties of the job.
Even in the heat, "riders like me still have to work because we need money to live our daily life... especially now when everything is getting more and more expensive," he said.
"I don't think there's any option to help us, because we have to be outside."
P.Mira--PC