Government launches awareness campaign as Pakistan hits ‘severe’ heatwave
ISLAMABAD: As the scorching heat continues this month, the federal government is collaborating with the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to carry out awareness campaigns, state media reported. The Pakistan Meteorological Department has forecast that daytime temperatures will “remain above normal” in June.
Pakistan has been hit by severe climate change due to global warming in recent years, resulting in frequent heat waves, extreme rains and droughts.
Officials on May 21 urged people to stay indoors in preparation for a heatwave that is expected to last until the end of the month. Pakistan’s most populous province, Punjab, ordered schools closed this month due to rising temperatures, leaving an estimated 18 million students unable to attend classes.
Chief meteorologist Dr Sardar Sarfaraz also warned that the heatwave would “intensify” from May 23 onwards.
“The Ministry of Climate Change and NDMA are spreading mass awareness among the people by taking preventive measures and mitigating its impact through issuance of advisories, public service announcement messages, ring tones and awareness campaigns through television, radio and social media platforms,” Radio Pakistan reported.
Prime Minister’s Climate Change Coordinator Romina Khurshid Alam told a press conference that 26 districts across the country have been hit by heatwave since May 21.
Alam said the first wave would last until May 30, the second wave would begin on June 7-8 and the third wave in the last week of June.
May and June were the “hottest and driest” on record with high monthly average temperatures, she added, and urged the public, especially children and the elderly, to take precautions.
She noted that the intensity of the heatwave has rapidly increased over the past few months with 13 districts in Sindh, nine in Punjab and four in Balochistan experiencing “severe heat”.
“Global warming is affecting the entire world and its effects are visible in the form of more frequent and intense heat waves,” the official said, blaming deforestation and unsustainable environmental practices for the severe weather conditions.
“An awareness campaign through various media is underway to educate people about the health risks and preventive measures.”
Alam said the heatwave was accelerating the melting of glaciers and increasing the risk of forest fires, and urged people to remain vigilant in national parks, avoid littering cigarette butts, keep car windows slightly open and make sure they have drinking water.
“There’s no time to rest”
The NDMA also urged people to stay hydrated and wear light-coloured clothing to minimise the effects of heat, and urged farmers to take current weather conditions into consideration when carrying out their farm work.
According to the Meteorological Department data, Jacobabad, Dadu and Mohenjo Daro were the hottest places in all of India with temperatures in these cities soaring from 49°C on Wednesday to 50°C on Thursday.
“The cities of Jacobabad, Dadu and Mohenjo Daro are known to experience temperatures of 50°C in May. In April 2022, the temperature in Jacobabad was 52°C,” the chief meteorologist said.
“The severe weather is likely to continue at least till June 3. There is no respite in sight, at least in Sindh. The heatwaves may subside in parts of Punjab but only after June 4.”
Extreme heat caused by climate change can lead to illnesses such as heat cramps, heat exhaustion, heat stroke and hyperthermia, and can exacerbate certain chronic diseases, including cardiovascular, respiratory, cerebrovascular and diabetes-related diseases, as well as lead to acute events such as stroke and hospitalization for kidney disease.
According to the Global Climate Risk Index, nearly 10,000 Pakistanis died and the country suffered economic losses worth $3.8 billion as a result of climate change between 1999 and 2018. In 2015, a heatwave in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city and capital of Sindh province, killed 120 people.
In 2022, torrential monsoon rains caused the worst floods in Pakistan’s history, killing nearly 1,700 people and affecting more than 33 million people — a staggering figure roughly equivalent to the population of Canada. Millions of homes, tens of thousands of schools, and thousands of kilometers of roads and railways have yet to be rebuilt.
