Pakistani authorities on Tuesday urged people to stay indoors as the country faces an extreme heatwave that threatens to bring dangerously high temperatures and renewed glacial flooding.
Pakistan’s most populous province of Punjab has closed all schools for a week due to the heat, affecting an estimated 18 million students.
“The sweltering heat is likely to continue this month,” said Zaheer Ahmed Babar, a senior official at the Pakistan Meteorological Department.
He added that temperatures could be up to 6 degrees Celsius (10.8 degrees Fahrenheit) above the monthly average. Babar said temperatures could exceed 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in many parts of the country this week.
This is the latest climate-related disaster to hit the country in recent years. Melting glaciers and increasing monsoons caused devastating floods that at one point submerged a third of the country.
Pakistan saw its wettest April since 1961, receiving more than double the normal monthly rainfall, according to the National Meteorological Centre. Dozens of people died in the heavy rains Experts say climate change has caused heavy rains in the country, while land and farmland have been destroyed.
Rescue workers and local residents gather to remove the rubble of a house partially damaged by a landslide caused by heavy rains in the Swat Valley town of Matta, Pakistan, April 14, 2024. (Rescue 1122 Emergency Department via AP/PTI)
Pakistan is still trying to recover from $30 billion in losses caused by catastrophic climate change floods that killed 1,739 people in 2022. Health officials said hospitals were directed to set up emergency heatwave response centers to help save lives of people affected by the scorching temperatures. It was treated immediately.
According to doctors, heatstroke is a serious illness in which a person’s body temperature rises rapidly due to sweltering heat, which can lead to loss of consciousness. Severe heatstroke can cause disability and death. Some parts of Pakistan are currently facing hours-long power outages. “We had power outage for hours on Monday,” said Ibrar Abbasi, who lives on the outskirts of Islamabad.
Scientists have long warned that climate change caused by the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation and certain agricultural practices will lead to more frequent and longer-lasting extreme weather events, including rising temperatures.
Babar said another severe heatwave could hit the country in June, with temperatures reaching 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit). He said people should drink plenty of water and avoid unnecessary travel. He said farmers and other livestock owners should take steps to protect their animals in the extreme heat.
But many people, especially workers and construction workers in poorer countries, are asking how they can stay indoors if their families will suffer if they don’t work. “I’m not feeling well because of the stifling heat, but I have to work,” said Ghulam Farid, who runs a small general store in Sheikhupura, a city in Punjab province.
Construction workers could be seen sitting along roads on the outskirts of the capital, Islamabad, looking for work. Among them was Mohamed Khurshid, 52, who noticed the changing seasons. “Even in the morning it feels hot, but people are saying it will get even hotter,” he said.
