As a heatwave has been ripping through various parts of southern Vietnam, especially in the Mekong Delta, outdoor workers find themselves enduring a grueling test of resilience as they contend with soaring temperatures while on the job.

Ly Thi Mai, a bricklayer helper residing in Tran Van Thoi District, Ca Mau Province, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that the scorching hot weather has made life much tougher for her to make ends meet.

Despite wearing sun protective clothing while working, Mai endures sunstroke and has trouble sleeping at the end of every day. 

She even feels exhausted after each time of mixing mortar due to prolonged exposure to the sun, but the woman has to keep working, Mai said.

The extreme heat has also caused hundreds of people whose jobs involve drying fish to suffer from growing fatigue.

Fish drying jobs require great tolerance to heat and can result in bad sunburn and darker skin, Vo Thi Muoi, a local in Tran Van Thoi, said, pointing at her dark skin tone.

Besides, street vendors in the region have struggled to stay in business amid the intense heat.

Le Huu Tai was offering household products for sale at the Thuy Lieu ferry terminal in Go Quao District, Kien Giang Province at noon on Friday when the sun climbed higher in the sky and the heat became more oppressive.

This street vendor, hailing from Kien Giang’s An Bien District, leaves home at 7:00 am every day and has to travel more than 100 kilometers to sell plastic baskets and tubs.

Despite wishing to remain at home to evade the scorching weather, Tai's financial circumstances compel him to continue working, leaving him with no choice but to endure the heat.

For salt farmers in Ben Tre Province who are entering the harvest season, the prolonged heatwave has made their lives more arduous but enabled them to have a bumper harvest.

According to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, the hot weather may persist in the southern and Central Highlands regions over the next few days.

The baking hot weather has swept through the southern region for nearly two months, resulting in freshwater undersupply in many localities.

The national weather agency predicted that temperatures could rise to 37 degrees Celsius in the southern region on Saturday, while showers are expected at night.

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