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This Week in Asia /

Health & Environment

Related Topics:
Coronavirus pandemic
Climate change
Wellness
People walk under a parasol in Shizuoka, Japan, where temperatures exceeded 30 degrees Celsius, on April 11. Photo: Kyodo
Japan

Japan warned of ‘hellish summer’ as energy fears mount

A prolonged Iran war, combined with an unusually early spell of hot weather, could leave Japan facing power shortages this summer.

US, Israel war on Iran

Shock therapy: war forces oil-addicted Asia to finally go green

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Japan

Japan’s Trump tariff deal faces climate backlash over projects’ 20% carbon surge

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South Korea

Solo in Seoul? South Korean capital offers helpers for US$4 an hour

The city’s ‘companion service’ aims to help single-person households move house or visit hospital.

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People walk through Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, South Korea, earlier this month. Photo: AFP
People walk through Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, South Korea, earlier this month. Photo: AFP
Indonesia

‘Alarming’ film poster sparks debate on child mental health in Indonesia

Psychologists warn provocative posters like the ones for ‘I Must Die’ can trigger suicidal ideation amid rising mental health struggles.

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Japan

‘Unable to handle rejection’: the forces driving Japan’s knife crime wave

Experts warn a generation raised on screens is losing the ability to handle real-world rejection.

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Japan

Solomon Islands residents live in fear of WWII bomb explosions

With more people on the islands killed or injured due to the munitions, a UN team calls for international efforts to remove the danger.

Billy, a resident of the village of Yandina in Russell Islands, Solomon Islands, sits next to unexploded munitions near his home. Photo: UNDP Pacific Office/Christopher Teasdale
Billy, a resident of the village of Yandina in Russell Islands, Solomon Islands, sits next to unexploded munitions near his home. Photo: UNDP Pacific Office/Christopher Teasdale
US, Israel war on Iran

Is the Strait of Hormuz a ticking environmental time bomb?

A major oil spill in the Gulf could damage fragile marine habitats, leading to dire consequences for the region, conservationists warn.

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Thailand

Thai undertaker brings corpse to petrol station to prove fuel need

After being denied fuel, a Thai man live-streamed the moment he showed station staff an occupied coffin to prove his urgent need.

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Japan

Where can Japan store its nuclear waste? Island plan raises alarm

Critics of Minamitorishima proposal point to scant research on the remote Pacific atoll.

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Protesters wearing protective suits and masks shout slogans next to mock drums of nuclear waste during a rally in Tokyo. Photo: AFP
Asean

Burning daylight: Asean’s power grid plans get an Iran war jolt

Oil is up, coal is back and so are fuel queues. As the Middle East burns, Southeast Asia dusts off an old plan to rewire its future.

Illustration: Huy Truong
Illustration: Huy Truong
Defence

Activists push for Cop31 to discuss impact of wars on global climate

Military activities are hampering the transition towards renewable energy, with data transparency lacking among major defence spenders.

Singapore

As haze returns to Singapore, is crisis ‘quietly accepted’ by Asean?

Some Singaporeans are resigned to tolerating the annual occurrence despite the health risks and higher electricity bills.

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Malaysia

Malaysia’s weather is so hot that it can warp a payment card

Rice fields are drying out in the northern region, while heat-related health cases are rising across the country.

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A Malaysian from Perak shows a toll payment card warped by the extreme heat affecting the country’s northern region. Photo: Threads/lltlps
The Philippines

A dog killer in the Philippines was fined US$17. New bills seek reform

Dedicated police units and a national watchdog. Two new bills aim to ensure animal abusers face justice, not just a US$17 fine.

Killua, a three-year-old golden retriever, was found dead inside a sack in 2024. Photo: Vina Arazas
Killua, a three-year-old golden retriever, was found dead inside a sack in 2024. Photo: Vina Arazas
Japan

In Japan, trains will get an extra 20 seconds to avert catastrophe from quakes

Tokyo has predicted an 80 per cent chance of a magnitude-9 quake in the next 30 years, that could cause 300,000 deaths.

South Korea

South Korea’s hurry-hurry spirit keeps killing its factory workers

Nine of the 14 people killed in Friday’s factory fire in Daejeon died in a room that did not officially exist.

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Singapore

‘Super-aged’ Singapore’s secret to growing old well? Stay busy

Forget doing nothing. At the city state’s active hubs, the soundtrack to ageing is sewing machines, exercise bikes and guitar lessons.

Elderly citizens use sewing machines at the Yong-en Active Hub in Singapore. Photo: Kolette Lim
Elderly citizens use sewing machines at the Yong-en Active Hub in Singapore. Photo: Kolette Lim
Climate change

Himalayan glacial loss threatens 2 billion as Asia’s ‘water tower’ shrinks

Conflicts, such as the Iran war, are diverting global attention away from the ecological crisis, scientists warn.

Ageing society

Mortal combat: Southeast Asia fights fears of death to plan for the end

Birth rates are falling. Populations are ageing. In Southeast Asia, the business of dying has never been bigger.

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India

India’s weight-loss drug price war begins as key patent expires

Generic slimming drugs are expected to flood a market where one in four adults are currently either overweight or obese.

A group of women walk on a street in Madurai, Tamil Nadu. About a quarter of India’s adult population is either overweight or obese. Photo: LightRocket via Getty Images
Malaysia

Malaysia’s ‘shielded’ medical tourism sector to benefit from Iran war’s impact

With the war affecting the outlook of Dubai’s medical hub, Malaysia could draw more patients from the Middle East.

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A FlyDubai aircraft prepares for landing as smoke rises from an ongoing fire near Dubai International Airport on Monday. Photo: TNS
A FlyDubai aircraft prepares for landing as smoke rises from an ongoing fire near Dubai International Airport on Monday. Photo: TNS
Artificial intelligence

Too hot to handle? Southeast Asia’s AI data centre gold rush strains power grids

Data centres crave cold. Southeast Asia is anything but. Now, the AI boom is pushing tropical engineering to the limit.

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Asean

Asean bets on new framework to remedy ‘uneven’ disaster response

The new ‘ASPECT’ initiative could help boost quicker collective regional responses during large-scale or evolving disasters, analysts say.

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Malaysia

‘Ocean is our income’: the Malaysian fishers being pushed out by progress

Malaysia’s government says the Port Klang expansion is sustainable and essential. Local Mah Meri fishers fear for their livelihoods.

Malaysian fisherman Lingan bin Man pulls up to the jetty in Kampung Sungai Kurau with his family. Photo: Ushar Daniele
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