Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State, recorded its hottest day in more than a decade last Tuesday, 12 October, at 37.5 degrees Celsius, breaking a 14-year temperature record.

According to Naing Lin Htwe of the Kachin State Meteorology and Hydrology Department, 37 °C was reached in 2007.

"We're in big trouble because of the drought," said a rice farmer from nearby Waingmaw town. Our rice is almost ripe, but we don't have enough water for our field," he told NMG.

Scientists have pointed out that the record-breaking temperatures around the world in 2021 have been affected by global warming.

Naing Lin Htwe said low atmospheric pressure in the Bay of Bengal and South China Sea caused by climate change resulted in hotter temperatures in the Kachin State capital. He warned that a thunderstorm and heavy rain would follow.

In Bhamo, the state's second largest city, a temperature of 37 degrees was recorded on 11 October, breaking the record of 36.8 degrees set in 2009.