Pakistan is experiencing extreme heat, with hundreds of heatstroke patients being treated in hospitals across the country.
Temperatures in Mohenjo Daro in the southern province of Sindh rose to 49 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit) on Wednesday, more than 8 degrees higher than the average daytime temperature in May, forcing authorities in Punjab to close schools for a week and advise residents to stay indoors, but many workers are continuing to work out of economic necessity.
The unusually high temperatures in May follow the wettest April since 1961, with more than double the normal monthly rainfall. These dramatic changes in weather patterns are blamed on human-induced climate change, which has caused widespread flooding and record high temperatures in Pakistan in recent years, resulting in devastating damage. The high temperatures are expected to continue into this weekend and into next week, with temperatures expected to exceed 40 degrees Celsius in the capital, Islamabad.
In the Midwest, several powerful tornadoes struck Iowa on Tuesday, causing devastation in the city of Greenfield. The Iowa Department of Public Safety said four people were killed in the area by the tornadoes, and one more person was killed 25 miles away when a woman’s car was blown off the road. At least 35 more people were reported injured, a figure that is likely to rise as recovery efforts begin.
The Greenfield tornado destroyed many homes and toppled five large wind turbines, one of which caught fire. The turbine recorded wind speeds of up to 100 miles per hour just before it was struck. The tornado traveled more than 40 miles on the ground, leaving a long path of destruction. April was the second-most frequently recorded month for tornadoes in the United States.
Thunderstorms also pounded the Philippines city of Davao on Thursday, causing knee-deep flooding in parts of the city and making some roads impassable, local reports said, as the Talomo River overflowed its banks and inundated nearby residential areas.
