From VNexpress:

Saigonese suffer longest heat wave in 30 years

The article contains this depressing line at the end:

El Nino is forecast to end this year, however, Quyet believes that the intensity of heat in the south is unlikely to decrease in the dry season in the coming years. Current climate fluctuations are becoming increasingly unusual. They easily break old rules, which means forecasting is also more difficult.

"There is only one sure trend, which is that the temperature will keep increasing, both globally and in Vietnam," Quyet said.

Although on a positive note, as I noted in a previous post, I am surviving this.  

Granted I don't spend a lot of time outside--just going to and from work, and going out at lunchbreak.  But during the times that I do go outside, it's not like I'm burning up or anything.

If this is the what the future holds, I guess I can survive it.

And although I have been spending the majority of my time inside air-conditioned buildings the last few days, as longs as there's no apocalypse, and electric air-conditioners continue to work fine in the future, I should be okay.  (If society ever breaks down, and we lose our source of electricity, then I'll be in trouble.  But that's probably unlikely.  Right?)

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Yesterday my wife told me that we need to spend 11 Million VND ($430 USD) to buy her parents an air conditioner.

They have spent their whole lives living out in the provinces in Vietnam and never needed an air conditioner before.  But now it's so hot that they can't stand it anymore.  (My wife says that during the afternoon, the whole extended family goes to her brother-in-law's house.  He has one room which has an air-conditioner, and they all sit in that room.)

I was reluctant to spend the extra money.  (Every month I keep thinking that this will be the month when we finally save some money, and every month we have new expenses come up.)  But I agreed, they needed an air-conditioner.  You don't want to be in this heat without an air-conditioner.
"Yes, buy it for them," I said.  "They're going to need it."

...I am, of course, fully aware of the air conditioning paradox.  So hopefully the change to renewable energy happens soon, so we don't have to worry about our air-conditioners running on fossil-fuels.

But in the mean time, what can you do?  You have to keep cool somehow.