As temperatures in Ho Chi Minh City soar above 37 degrees Celsius, experts warn of dangerously high ultraviolet (UV) levels, but local street vendors have no choice but to sweat it out as they scrape together a meager living in the heat.

Mercury throughout southern Vietnam is forecast to hit 36 and 37 degrees Celsius this week before topping out at 38 degrees Celsius in April.

In Ho Chi Minh City, the temperature has hovered above 30 degrees Celsius from 9:00 am to 5:30 pm over the last few days, taking its toll on local residents, especially those with no other choice but to make their living under the sun.

A toll for lottery ticket sellers

“I just don’t understand how it could possibly be this hot!” Tran Thi Kim Trung, a lottery ticket seller exclaimed, after returning to her rented house in District 9 at 2:00 pm on Wednesday following a long morning spent in the baking heat.

Both Trung and her daughter typically spend the entire day, from sun up until to sun down, walking from place to place in search of buyers. 

A short break at noon is the only rest they can afford to take.

These days, however, the pair find it harder and harder to work in the afternoon sun, considering the unbearable weather is now beginning to set in as early as 9:00 am.

“I normally only return home when my last ticket was sold, but over the last two days I’ve had to come home early with unsold tickets,” Trung said.

The woman, 60, hails from Hue City in central Vietnam, a region known for its broiling hot summer.

Despite being used to high temperatures, the lottery ticket seller now complains about dizziness while she walks through the sweltering weather each day.

Another lottery ticket seller tortured by the heat is Dau, a 78-year-old double-leg amputee.

Rather than move around to sell tickets, Dau sits stationary near a table on the sidewalk.

“Why is it so hot?” the 78-year-old said as the small electric fan on his table blew beads of sweat across his face.

The heat also forced Dau to put up an umbrella next to the table to shelter him from the sun, but being covered also means passers-by often overlook the man. 

“I hope it gets cooler so I can put away the umbrella and people notice that I am here selling lottery tickets,” he said.

Still on their bikes despite the heat

Local scrap dealers face the same hardships as lottery ticket sellers, as they pedal through neighborhoods offering to buy recyclable goods.

Now, the sizzling weather makes the job more arduous than ever.

“I’ve been suffering from headaches, dizziness, and low blood pressure for the past few days,” a scrap dealer told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper, explaining that her days are spent pedaling nearly 70km on her bicycle through various neighborhoods looking for recyclable goods she hopes to sell for enough money to finance her youngest child’s college education.

Another scrap dealer, 47-year-old Le Van Tam, said fainting because of the unbearable heat has become a normal occurrence for him over the past few days.

“There are even some days when the heat makes me so sick that I get a fever,” he said.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!