ISLAMABAD– Doctors treated hundreds of heatstroke victims in hospitals across Pakistan on Thursday after an intense heat wave sent temperatures above normal levels due to climate change, officials said.
Temperatures reached 49 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit) the day before in Mohenjo Daro. The city, known for its archaeological sites, is located in the southern province of Sindh, which was severely affected by climate-induced monsoon rains and devastating floods in 2022. The heat wave is expected to continue for at least a week.
Authorities have urged people to stay home, stay hydrated and avoid unnecessary travel. But workers say they have no choice because they need to work to feed their families.
“Pakistan is the fifth most vulnerable country to the impact of climate change. We have witnessed above-normal rainfall and flooding,” Rubina Khursheed Alam, the prime minister’s climate coordinator, said at a news conference in the capital Islamabad.
Doctors say they treated hundreds of patients in the eastern city of Lahore, while dozens of people were taken to hospitals in the districts of Hyderabad, Larkana and Jacobabad in the southern province of Sindh.
“The situation has worsened since yesterday when heat-affected people started flocking to hospitals in Punjab province,” said Ghulam Farid, a senior health official. Pakistan has set up emergency response centers in hospitals to treat heat-affected patients.
The state ambulance service is now transporting bottled water and ice to provide emergency treatment to heat victims, health officials said.
Heat stroke is a serious illness that occurs when body temperature rises too quickly, which can cause some people to lose consciousness. Severe heat stroke can cause disability or death.
This year, Pakistan recorded its wettest April since 1961, with more than double the usual monthly rainfall. Heavy rains last month killed dozens of people and destroyed property and farmland.
Daytime temperatures are rising 8 degrees Celsius (46 degrees Fahrenheit) above May temperatures, raising fears of flooding in the northwest due to melting glaciers.
The 2022 floods caused extensive damage in Sindh and Balochistan provinces, and 1,739 people died across the country.
Currently, the southwestern and northwestern parts of Pakistan are also suffering from the heat wave.
Authorities closed schools for a week in Punjab. In the city of Lahore, people were seen swimming in road canals. Pakistan says that despite contributing less than 1% to carbon emissions, it is bearing the brunt of global climate disasters.
Alam said the recent erratic changes in weather patterns were a result of man-made climate change.
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