NEW DELHI: Institutions all over Pakistan treated thousands of patients who had suffered from sunstroke as a severe heat wave raised the temperature above normal. Authorities attribute climate change to the rise in temperature.
Temperatures reached upwards to 49 degrees Celsius ( 120 degrees Fahrenheit ) in Mohenjo Daro on Wednesday. The city, which is located in southwestern Sindh province, was significantly impacted by monsoon rains and floods brought on by climate change in 2022. The heat is anticipated to last at least for at least a year.
Officials have advised people to stay home, stay hydrated, and prevent unwanted travel. However, some workmen say they may remain working to support their families.
Pakistan is the second most susceptible nation to the effects of climate change. We have witnessed above ordinary storms, storms”, said Rubina Khursheed Alam, the prime minister’s consultant on weather, during a media conference in Islamabad.
A legal defence official, Barakullah Khan, cautioned residents of open areas against leaving cooking gas cylinders in open spaces and warned those who lived close to fields against the threat of snakes and spiders entering homes and storage areas in search of cooler weather.
Weather experts predicted that conditions may increase to 55 degrees Celsius ( 131 degrees Fahrenheit ) this month.
Scores of heatstroke people have been treated in hospitals in the northeast area of Lahore and in the towns of Hyderabad, Larkana, and Jacobabad in the Sindh province.
” The situation has been getting worse since yesterday, when persons affected by heat started coming to institutions in the Punjab province”, said Ghulam Farid, a top health standard. Hospitals have been set up emergency response centers to handle people who are affected by heat.
To treat steam victims in an emergency, the state-run ambulance service has now got snow and bottled water.
Family’s rights organization UNICEF has called for measures to protect them from the heat. Sanjay Wijesekera, Unicef local director for South Asia, warned that rising heat had set thousands of family’s health at risk if they are not protected and nourished.
Heatstroke is a serious condition that occurs when body temperature rises too fast, possibly causing unconsciousness, impairment, or death.
Pakistan experienced the wettest April since 1961, with more than twice the normal monthly precipitation. Heavy rains last month resulted in fatalities and significant house and farm damage.
Over the past 20 years, nighttime temps have increased by as much as 8 degrees Celsius ( 46 degrees Fahrenheit ) above the ordinary May temperature, raising concerns about flooding in the west as a result of glacial melting.
The 2022 storms caused significant damage in Sindh and Baluchistan regions, resulting in 1, 739 incidents nationwide.
The heat is furthermore affecting Pakistan’s west and north areas. Punjabi schools have been closed for a year.
On Thursday, Save the Children announced that more than half of Pakistan’s school- time children, about 26 million, may miss a week of school due to the heatwave. The closure of schools in Punjab means 52 % of the country’s students will be out of school.
Citizens of Lahore have been seen relaxing by swimming in ditches along the road. Pakistan is experiencing significant effects of climate change despite contributing less than 1 % to global carbon emissions.
( With agency inputs )
