Pakistan’s Sindh province extends summer holidays as charities suspect nine heatstroke deaths in Hyderabad
KARACHI: Pakistan’s southern province of Sindh, which has been hit by scorching heat for months, has extended summer vacations in educational institutions until August 14, the provincial education department said on Tuesday, after a Pakistani charity reported nine suspected heatstroke deaths.
Pakistan has been hit by several heatwaves since May, with temperatures reaching above 52°C (125.6°F) in Sindh province, according to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD).
The province has received less rainfall this year than other parts of Pakistan, and residents have complained of higher humidity and hotter temperatures.
Pakistan’s largest charity, the Edhi Foundation, said on Tuesday it had found nine bodies in Hyderabad, Sindh province’s second city, and that the deaths were likely caused by heatstroke, with temperatures hitting 41 degrees Celsius the previous day.
“In view of the extreme heat and expected monsoon rains, summer vacations in all public and private educational institutions under the Department of School Education and Literacy are extended up to August 14, 2024,” the Sindh Education Department said in a notification.
According to an earlier notification issued by authorities, the summer holidays in schools in Sindh were scheduled to end on July 31.
Fatalities in Hyderabad
Earlier in the day, Mairaj Ahmed, a Hyderabad-based executive director at the Edhi Foundation, said its volunteers had found nine bodies in the city on Monday, “the highest number in recent times.”
“Usually we find one or two bodies a day, but since the heatwave began, the number often rises to three, four or even five a day,” he told Arab News.
Sindh Health Department spokesman Ali Nawaz Channa told Arab News that no such deaths had been recorded in Hyderabad on Monday, but the Edhi Foundation shared all personal details, including phone numbers.
“Yesterday we found nine bodies. Today we found two more,” Ahmed said, adding that most of the dead were drug addicts and beggars who often spend their time on the streets.
“We’re not qualified to say definitively that heat stroke was the cause of death, but we can certainly say that these deaths are linked to hot weather.”
Earlier this month, Mohammed Amin, a board member at Karachi’s Edhi Foundation, told Arab News that hundreds of people who may have died from the heat had been taken to the charity’s morgue.
“We have received 1,309 bodies since June 19,” Amin said, but could not confirm whether all the bodies belonged to people who lost their lives due to complications from the heat wave.
The Sindh Health Department reported that 3,338 people experienced heatstroke across the province this summer season, but only 45 died from it.
The health department has not released data on heatstroke cases for July.
Rain and flood forecast
The Sindh Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) on Sunday warned of flash floods in the province as heavy rains were expected, state-run Radio Pakistan reported.
Rain and thundershowers are expected in Tharparkar, Umarkot, Badin, Mirpurkhas, Sanghar, Hyderabad, Tand Mohammad Khan, Tand Allah Yar, Matiari, Kambal, Shahdad Kot, Kashmore, Shikarpur, Jacobabad, Ghotki, Sukkur, Thatta and Sajawal districts of Sindh this week.
The PDMA spokesperson urged the public to follow government instructions and take necessary precautions to avoid any incident.
Pakistan is recognized as one of the countries most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change in the world. Unusually heavy rains in June 2022 caused flash floods in many parts of the country, killing more than 1,700 people, causing losses of approximately $30 billion, and affecting at least 30 million people.
