Under a roof of plastic sheets in one of the camps in Kayah state, Augusta waits for the 10 gallons that must cover her family's drinking, cooking and washing needs for the next three days.
More than 123,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in Kayah by the conflict unleashed by the military's 2021 coup, according to the United Nations.
Now, a heatwave that has sent the mercury in Myanmar to 48 degrees Celsius (118 Fahrenheit) in some places has added to uncertainties of life in the camps.
"Last year, we got water from a spring nearby," Augusta told AFP.
"But now we can't get water from that place as there is no water left there.
"We have to be frugal... If we don't shower today, maybe tomorrow we can wash our hands and faces."
The scarcity means she and her children are often unable to wash properly or clean their clothes in the baking heat.
"The children are itching and they seem dirty, and we also don't have clean clothes for them," she said.
- A swelling camp -
A dozen or so camp residents queue up at the truck for water rations that will have to last them three or four days.
Children carry the containers home in baskets on their backs or via trolleys as hot wind whips up dust from the dirt road.
"When there were only residents living in this place, there was enough water," said Zay Yar Tun, of the charity Clean Yangon.
"But after the displaced people fled here, the population is too much for the amount of water we can get here."
Donations keep Zay Yar Tun's team and its two trucks running, and they make two deliveries to the camp each week.
Finding the streams or springs to fill up their truck can be dangerous in Kayah, which has emerged as one of the hotspots of resistance to military rule.
The military regularly calls in air and artillery strikes on its opponents and landmines are a constant danger.
Transporting cargo to the camps is difficult too.
The fuel the team needs to run their trucks and pumps is expensive because of military restrictions on importing fuel into Kayah, Zay Yar Tun said.
"The price of fuel is very expensive, and it seems like we are exchanging fuel to get water," he said.
- 'Borrowing water' -
Families like Augusta's are forced to make similar calculations as they try to get through the heat.
"If we are going to take a bath in the creek, we have to go far away from the camp," she said.
"It's not a walkable distance under this temperature."
"If we go by motorcycle, it's not worth it because of the cost of fuel. If we save money for fuel, we may as well use it to buy water."
Respite in the form of the rainy season may be some way off yet.
Myanmar's weather office has forecast that the monsoon, which usually begins around May, is likely to arrive late this year, state media reported this week.
Until then, water will be priceless in the camp, said Augusta.
"Sometimes we say to each other: 'I haven't got any water left, have you got any? Please could you give me some?'" she said.
"Our life has come to this, where we have to borrow water."
South Korea records hottest April in half a century
Seoul (AFP) May 7, 2024 -
South Korea experienced its hottest April since comprehensive records began in 1973, the state weather agency said Tuesday, with average daily temperatures more than 2.5 degrees higher than in previous years.
"The highest average national temperature for April (is) 14.9 degrees Celsius (58.8 degrees Fahrenheit) in 2024", the Korea Meteorological Administration said, adding it was the highest recorded in April since the national weather observation network was established in 1973.
The previous record was 14.7 degrees Celsius, set in April 1998, KMA said.
Average nationwide temperatures in April surpassed the 1991-2020 April average of 12.1 degrees Celsius, it added.
The average daily high also reached a record-breaking 21.1 degrees -- which is an increase of 2.5 degrees from the average from 1991 to 2020.
April 14 saw especially high temperatures, as the daytime mercury in the greater Seoul region and areas of Gangwon province soared to approximately 30 degrees.
High pressure flows "developed over the Philippine Sea and east of Taiwan, resulting in warm southerly winds flowing into our country along the edge of the high pressure", KMA said in a statement.
Asia is warming faster than the global average, according to the UN's World Meteorological Organization.
In the region, large swathes of South and Southeast Asia have recently been sweltering through a heatwave that has topped temperature records from Myanmar to the Philippines, with the El Nino phenomenon driving this year's exceptionally warm weather.
In February, the head of last year's COP28 climate talks said the world needs "trillions" of dollars to spur on the green transition and tackle global warming, warning that political momentum could evaporate without clear action.
The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund are under pressure to initiate sweeping reforms to align their lending with the Paris deal goal of capping global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels.
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