Southeast Asia experienced its heaviest November rains since 2012, with climate change intensifying storms and causing widespread flooding and hundreds of deaths.
PARIS: Some flood-hit regions of Southeast Asia experienced their heaviest November rains since 2012, according to an AFP analysis.
Large areas of Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Myanmar recorded rainfall totals not seen in November for more than a decade.
Almost all of Sri Lanka also experienced record rainfall, according to monthly US data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Heavy rains are common during the monsoon season, but climate change has made tropical storms more frequent and intense.
Some areas experienced monthly rainfall levels up to one metre above the November 1991-2020 average.
Cyclone Ditwah brought torrential rains to Sri Lanka in recent days, triggering floods and landslides that buried entire villages.
A total of 410 people have died and 336 are missing, according to a report released by the Sri Lankan Disaster Management Agency.
Meanwhile, an exceptional storm raged across the Bay of Bengal, causing at least 176 deaths in southern Thailand and two in northern Malaysia.
The death toll in Indonesia rose to 712, with more than 500 people missing and 1.1 million people evacuated.
Environmentalists and the Indonesian government have highlighted the role of deforestation in causing flash floods and landslides.
In southeastern Thailand, November rainfall totals exceeded 1.5 metres in some areas.
In Vietnam, floods in mid-November killed at least 90 people in a single week, mainly in the mountainous province of Dak Lak.
This region broke its overall record for November rainfall in 2025, as did the border areas of Laos and Cambodia.
Typhoon Kalmaegi also hit Vietnam earlier this month, killing at least five people after leaving more than 230 dead in the Philippines.
The Philippines was hit by Typhoon Fung-wong the following week, which left some 30 dead in the northern part of the archipelago.
