A storm tore the roof from a building as a scorching heat wave gave way to torrential rains in Thailand.

Footage shows a garage shed in a shambles after strong winds battered the structure during a downpour in Chachoengsao province on April 28.

Resident Sutthikan Tong said the shack was made of light wood so it was easily dismantled.

He said: 'The storm was terrifying. We were all scared our house would be blown away.'

The storm came as temperatures soared to 45 degrees Celsius last month during a heat wave across the Asia Pacific region.

Maximiliano Herrera, a climatologist and weather historian, described the scorching heat as the 'worst April heatwave in Asian history'.

In Thai capital Bangkok, residents were warned not to go outside amid 42 degrees Celsius temperatures causing power outages due to surging demand from air con units and fans running.

The country's national weather service said the heat index - what the temperature feels like when combined with humidity - hit a record 54C (129F).

The warm weather is now giving way to extreme tropical storms.

The Thai Meteorological Department warned that southerly and southeasterly winds prevailing over upper Thailand would strengthen between April 23 and 26.

Outbreaks of summer storms, accompanied by thunderstorms, gusty winds, hail, and lightning strikes, were expected to affect the northeastern and eastern parts of the country first, before spreading to other regions.