MOHENJODARO: Temperatures in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province topped 52 degrees Celsius (125.6 degrees Fahrenheit), the highest temperature this summer and approaching the country’s record high amid a heatwave that continues, the weather department said on Monday.
An international team of scientists said extreme temperatures across Asia over the past month have probably worsened as a result of human-made climate change.
In Mohenjo Daro, a town in Sindh province known for ruins dating back to the Indus Valley civilisation founded in 2500 BC, temperatures rose to 52.2 degrees Celsius (126 F) in the past 24 hours, Shahid Abbas, a senior official at the Pakistan Meteorological Department, told Reuters.
The temperature was the warmest so far this summer, approaching the city and country’s previous records of 53.5°C (128.3°F) and 54°C (129.2°F).
Mohenjo Daro is a small town with very hot summers, mild winters and little rainfall, but its limited market – which includes a bakery, coffee shop, car repair shop, electrical repair shop and fruit and vegetable shops – is usually bustling with customers.
However, due to the current heatwave, there are hardly any customers at the store.
“Because of the extreme heat, no one is coming to our restaurants. We just put the tables and chairs in our restaurants and sit there doing nothing even though there are no customers,” said Wajid Ali, 32, who runs a tea stall in the town.
“I take baths several times a day, which helps a little. Also, we don’t have electricity. The heat makes me very anxious.”
Near Ali’s shop is an electrical repair shop run by 30-year-old Abdul Khaliq, who sits with the shutters of his shop half-down to avoid the sun as he works. He also complained that the heat was affecting his work.
Mustaq Ahmed, a local doctor, added that locals have adapted to living in extreme weather conditions and prefer to stay indoors or near water.
“Pakistan is the fifth most vulnerable country to the impacts of climate change. We are witnessing above-normal rainfall and floods,” Prime Minister’s Climate Coordinator Rubina Khurshid Alam said at a press conference on Friday, adding that the government was running awareness campaigns against heatwaves.
The highest temperature ever recorded in Pakistan was in 2017, when temperatures soared to 54 degrees Celsius (129.2 degrees Fahrenheit) in Turbat city in the southwestern province of Balochistan. This was the second-hottest temperature in Asia and the fourth-hottest in the world, said Sardar Sarfaraz, chief meteorologist at the Pakistan Meteorological Department.
While the heatwave is expected to subside in Mohenjo Daro and surrounding areas, scorching heat is expected to return to other parts of Sindh province, including the capital Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city.
