Heat Wave Kills 838 in Pakistan – More Heat Coming
At least 838 people are dead in Pakistan after one of the worst heat waves in a decade combined with lackluster infrastructure, water shortages and the holy month of Ramadan to cause hundreds of cases of dehydration and heat stroke. Thankfully, the area is seeing some temporary relief from the heat since Wednesday and, as a result, hospital visits are down.
“If you can call it ‘relief’, highs the past couple of days have held between 36-37 degrees Celsius, or 97-99 degrees Fahrenheit,” said weather.com meteorologist Jonathan Erdman. “But brisk winds off the Arabian Sea have kept dew points around 25C or in the oppressive upper 70s Fahrenheit.”
At its peak, the heat wave sent temperatures as high as 113 degrees Fahrenheit, combining with high humidity to make for absolutely brutal conditions.
Heat index values reported at 10 a.m. GMT on Tuesday, June 23, 2015. In Sukkur, Pakistan, the combination of a 111-degree air temperature and an 81-degree dewpoint made it feel like 137 degrees Fahrenheit (58 degrees Celsius).
The situation magnified as Karachi suffered from extreme power outages and little running water, and a majority of the residents were fasting for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Home to some 20 million people and the capital of the southern Sindh province, Karachi has long suffered under an inefficient power grid and a shortage of potable water. The power outages have also affected the city’s sporadic water supply, forcing those who can afford it rely on tankers of water being delivered to their homes.
Maj. Gen. Asghar Nawaz, chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority, said that in Karachi alone, 800 people died as a result of the heat wave. The authorities were simply not prepared to handle the heat wave — the worst he could remember in Sindh since 1979.
Another 38 people died in various other parts of the province, Nawaz said, warning that the death toll could rise further in the coming days because many of the sick are in critical condition.
During the heat wave’s worst moments, Karachi residents tried to find running water to cool off at public taps or broken pipes. Some bathed with their clothes on, while others washed their hands, faces and heads. As power outages rolled across the city, women and children walked down roads looking for shelter after leaving their small, hot homes.
“We’re forced to sleep in the streets,” resident Muzafar Khan said.
Seemi Jamali, a spokeswoman for Karachi’s main Jinnah Hospital, said most of the heatstroke victims were the elderly, women and children.
“Unfortunately, many victims were already unconscious when they were brought to our hospital in the past three or four days,” she said. “It was difficult to help them.”
Jamali said the hospital staff were still treating dozens of people for heat-related ailments like fever, dehydration and stomach-related illnesses.
City morgues ran out of space and TV footage showed bodies stacked up inside of cold storage rooms as their relatives cried nearby. Karachi resident Rasheed Ahmed blamed the power outage and lack of medical treatment for the death of his relative.
Mechanic Mohammad Shahid Khan said Tuesday he had not had electricity at his home and workshop for two days.
“Come and see our homes how our parents and children are suffering due to extreme summer. There is nobody to listen to us. Nobody cares. What should we do? We are very upset with the situation,” he said.
Nazar Mohammad Bozdar, the Director General at National Disaster Management Authority in Sindh, blamed climate change for the extreme weather.
“People never expected this sort of heat could come, so they were not prepared for it,” he said.
More extreme heat is on tap for the region this weekend, meaning the situation could worsen once again.
“Unfortunately, high pressure aloft will strengthen over Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan this weekend, sending temperatures soaring back toward 40 Celsius – around 104 Fahrenheit,” said Erdman.