He can't afford a car, and a previous junta outlawed two-wheeled motorised vehicles for "security reasons", so the employee of the delivery app FoodPanda has no choice but to sweat his way through the streets under his own power.
A wave of exceptionally hot weather has blasted Southeast Asia in recent days, with temperatures in Yangon hitting 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), according to Myanmar's weather office.
In some places, authorities have advised citizens to stay at home, but there is no rest for workers like Than Toe Aung, who relies on his bicycle for income.
"I sweat a lot when I am out working," the 27-year-old told AFP after leaving his room for another scorching shift in the city of around eight million people.
"The temperature is hotter these days."
He does what he can to cover himself, wearing a hat, a long-sleeved shirt, long socks and gloves.
He also daubs a traditional sandalwood paste called thanaka on each cheek to protect against the sun.
He alters his route to favour shadier streets and relies on watermelon to keep hydrated.
The heat is unrelenting, but also good for business, Than Toe Aung said, as many other drivers choose to take a break, offering those ready to brave the temperatures a chance to make more.
After several deliveries to offices and homes, he has a meal of rice and vegetables on the shaded steps of a shop.
At every pick-up spot he searches for a shady patch.
"Sometimes we have to wait outside for 30 minutes while they prepare the food," he said.
For slogging through the energy-sapping heat, an average rider will make between 20,000 and 30,000 Myanmar kyat ($10-15) per day, he said.
FoodPanda did not respond to an AFP request for comment on whether it gives guidance to its riders in Yangon on coping with extreme weather.
The heatwave is causing havoc in the city, where a creaky and outdated electricity grid struggles to keep fans whirling and air conditioners humming during the hot season.
"This year is the worst," a 37-year-old pedal-powered trishaw driver told AFP in western Yangon.
"I can't ride even if passengers come at noon... I got a fever for two days last week after riding in the sun."
He said his earnings were down as people were avoiding going outdoors during the day.
"I stay under shady trees near the gate and join only when it is my turn," he said.
'Have to be outside': Thai delivery riders swelter in heatwave
Bangkok (AFP) April 30, 2024 -
In Bangkok's central Siam Square, Suriyan Wongwan sweats while he waits to collect the food that he will deliver by motorbike as Thailand bakes through a heatwave.
"I'm afraid of getting heatstroke," the 51-year-old told AFP as the mercury hit 37 degrees Celsius (99 degrees Fahrenheit), with humidity pushing the "real feel" to a sticky 43C (109F).
Large swathes of Southeast Asia are struggling through a heatwave that has broken temperature records and forced millions of children to stay home as schools close across the region.
Experts say climate change makes heatwaves more frequent, longer and more intense, while the El Nino phenomenon is also driving this year's exceptionally warm weather.
Among those hit hardest are workers whose jobs require them to be outdoors all day, such as the motorbike drivers who deliver food and offer taxi rides through Bangkok's traffic-choked streets.
"My self-protection is to drink more water, so I can carry myself and not pass out," Suriyan said.
"In hot weather like this, I drink whenever I park my bike."
The air-conditioned malls from where he collects his deliveries offer some respite, but he also worries the rapid change in temperature risks making him sick.
Isara Sangmol is one of the city's legion of "win motosai" -- motorbike taxi drivers -- and has been on the job since he was 17.
These days he drinks four or five bottles of water a day to stay hydrated -- double his normal intake.
"We need to get enough sleep to work, otherwise the heat would affect our body and our health," the 48-year-old told AFP as he sipped water from a tumbler.
He waits for customers in the early afternoon at a motorbike stand that offers some shade.
"If it gets too hot for me, I can take off my orange 'win' jacket (worn by motorbike taxi drivers) and go inside the mall to cool down," he said.
He switched up his clothing for lighter fabrics that are more breathable, but driving a motorbike means he needs to wear long trousers and proper shoes.
Seksith Prasertpong has been delivering food for the Line Man app for the past two years and said the heat "makes my job harder".
"I have to wash my face more often, go to the toilet, and drink cold water regularly," the 38-year-old told AFP during a break.
Though the heat eases later in the day, Seksith said changing his working hours is not an option.
"Our rate is low. But the more we work, the more we earn," he said.
He would like to see incentives for drivers during hot weather, as is currently the case during heavy downpours when delivery rates are increased.
Suriyan also thinks rates ought to be raised to reflect the difficulties of the job.
Even in the heat, "riders like me still have to work because we need money to live our daily life... especially now when everything is getting more and more expensive," he said.
"I don't think there's any option to help us, because we have to be outside."
Bangladesh again closes schools nationwide due to heatwave
Dhaka (AFP) April 29, 2024 -
A Bangladeshi court ordered a nationwide shutdown of schools on Monday due to an ongoing heatwave, the day after the government sent millions of children back to class despite searing temperatures.
Extensive scientific research has found climate change is causing heat waves to become longer, more frequent and more intense.
Average temperatures in the capital Dhaka over the past week have been 4-5 degrees Celsius (7.2-9 degrees Fahrenheit) higher than the 30-year average for the same period.
The government said at least seven people had died as a result of the extreme heat since the start of April, with maximum temperatures in the capital forecast to remain above 40 degrees until Thursday.
A two judge bench of the High Court passed an order "closing all primary and secondary schools and madrasas... due to the heatwave," deputy attorney general Sheikh Saifuzzaman told AFP.
Saifuzzaman said the court passed the order after it was told by lawyers that several teachers had died in the heatwave, without giving further details.
Bangladesh follows the Sunday-Thursday Islamic work week. The order directs schools to remain closed for an estimated 32 million students until the coming Sunday.
The government had imposed a weeklong national school closure beginning April 21 as the heatwave persisted, but lifted the order over the weekend.
Classes had resumed in Dhaka on Sunday with anxious relatives accompanying their children to the school gates.
"Keeping schools shut is difficult because the children don't want to study at home," mother Fatema Tuz Zohor told AFP on Sunday. "But how can they come to the schools in this heat?"
- 'We will see more' -
Bangladesh's weather bureau has said that temperatures would not recede until Thursday at the earliest.
Meteorologist Muhammad Abul Kalam Mallik told AFP on Sunday that Bangladesh had not seen such an intense heatwave since records began in 1948.
"It is a record as far as the duration and the coverage area in the country are concerned," he said, adding that the searing temperatures were affecting about three-quarters of the country.
Mallik said climate change and man-made causes including rapid urbanisation, forest clearance, shrinking water bodies and increased usage of air conditioning were to blame.
"The trouble is, we will see more such severe heatwaves in the future," he said.
Government medical officer Kazi Abdul Momin said that nine students and a teacher had been brought to a health clinic in his village Salitha after falling ill in the heat.
"Based on our assessment, they may have fallen ill due to the heatwave," he told AFP.
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