Doctors treat thousands of heatstroke victims in southern Pakistan as temperatures rise

KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — An intense heat wave that lasted several days disrupted normal life in Pakistan, especially in its largest city, Karachi, where doctors treated thousands of heatstroke victims at several hospitals, health officials said Tuesday. fair.

Several people fell unconscious in the city and some of them later died, local media said.

Temperatures reached 47 degrees Celsius (117 degrees Fahrenheit) in Sindh province on Tuesday. Authorities in Karachi, the provincial capital, are asking people to stay at home, stay hydrated and avoid unnecessary travel.

Forecasters say the heat wave, which began in May, will ease next week.

Currently, Karachi is experiencing an intense heat wave.

According to local media, the multi-day heat wave also killed more than two dozen people in the city, but no government spokesperson was available to confirm the heatstroke-related deaths.

On Tuesday, Faisal Edhi, head of the Edhi Foundation, which runs the country’s largest ambulance service, said he had received dozens of bodies of heatstroke victims in Karachi the previous day.

Imran Sarwar Sheikh, head of the emergency room at Karachi’s state-run Civil Hospital, told the Associated Press that they had treated 120 heatstroke victims the previous day. Eight of those patients later died, he said.

On Monday, more than 1,500 heatstroke victims were treated in other hospitals in the city, according to local media.

Sardar Sarfaraz, chief meteorologist in Karachi, said temperatures will continue to rise this week across Pakistan. “Today the weather is dry. Under these conditions, the temperature starts to rise,” he said.

Pakistan’s climate is warming much faster than the global average, with a potential increase of 1.3 to 4.9 degrees Celsius (2.3 to 8.8 degrees Fahrenheit) by the 2090s over the period benchmark from 1986-2005, according to a World Bank expert panel on climate change.

The country, which is one of the world’s most vulnerable to climate change, also faces the risk of heavy monsoon rains, in part due to its immense northern glaciers, which are now melting as temperatures rise. Warmer air can hold more moisture, intensifying monsoons.

This year’s monsoon will begin in July, causing flash floods, according to a statement released by Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority. The agency’s warning comes less than two weeks after a senior UN official said a about 200,000 people in Pakistan may be affected by the upcoming monsoon season.

However, authorities say this year’s monsoon rains will not be as heavy as in 2022, when devastating floods killed 1,739 people, destroyed 2 million homes and covered up to a third of the country at one point.

The 2022 floods caused more than $30 billion in damage to Pakistan’s already cash-strapped economy.

Pakistan claims that despite contributing less than 1% to global carbon emissions, it is bearing the brunt of global climate disasters.

The persistent heat in recent months has also had a major impact on agriculture in the region, causing damage to crops and reduced yields, as well as on education, with school holidays having to be extended and schools closed in several countriesaffecting thousands of students.

Climate experts say extreme heat in South Asia during the pre-monsoon season is becoming more frequent. The study found that extreme temperatures are now about 0.85 degrees Celsius (1.5 Fahrenheit) hotter in the region due to climate change, and this year Pakistan has witnessed above-normal rainfall and heat.