Thursday, June 25, 2015

Pakistan Heat Wave Kills At Least 860; Death Toll Rises Despite Lower Temperatures

Associated Press
Published: June 25,2015




 
At least 860 people are dead after an intense heat wave swept through southern Pakistan last weekend, according to a senior health official.
The heat wave is slowly subsiding but has devastated the region, becoming Pakistan’s deadliest heat wave on record and raising the fear South Asia may be experiencing the impacts of human-caused climate change. Just weeks ago, temperatures soared in neighboring India, killing nearly 2,200.
"If you can call it 'relief', highs the past couple of days have held between 36-37 degrees Celsius, or 97-99 degrees Fahrenheit," said weather.com meteorologist Jonathan Erdman. "But brisk winds off the Arabian Sea have kept dew points around 25C or in the oppressive upper 70s Fahrenheit."
At its peak, the heat wave sent temperatures as high as 113 degrees Fahrenheit, combining with high humidity to make for absolutely brutal conditions.
Heat index values reported at 10 a.m. GMT on Tuesday, June 23, 2015. In Sukkur, Pakistan, the combination of a 111-degree air temperature and an 81-degree dewpoint made it feel like 137 degrees Fahrenheit (58 degrees Celsius).
The port city of Karachi suffered the worst of the heat wave. A faulty power grid, shortages of potable water and a Muslim population observing dawn-to-dusk fasting for Ramadan worsened the situation.
(MORE: 120-Degree Heat Possible In Desert Southwest)
Jam Mehtab Hussain, the provincial health minister in the southern Sindh province, said that despite lower temperatures, people were still being admitted to hospitals with heat-related ailments - though in smaller numbers than in previous days.
Ahmad Kamal, a spokesman for the National Disaster Management Authority, said authorities were providing free medical treatment to people in Karachi. He said the situation was improving due to lower temperatures.
On Thursday, the temperature dropped to 34 degrees Celsius (93.2 degrees Fahrenheit) in Karachi from a high of 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) on Sunday.
TV footage showed ambulances transporting heatstroke patients to hospitals, where people held small rallies against power outages.
Observant Muslims, who make up the majority of Karachi's 20 million residents, were abstaining from food and water during long summer days. A single sip of water invalidates the fast, but Muslims are discouraged from fasting if they are sick or if doing so would cause physical harm.
Allama Tahir Ashrafi, a Pakistani cleric, called on sick and elderly people to avoid fasting until the weather improves.
"Those people who cannot fast because of health reasons should not fast these days. There is no need to risk your lives," he said. Volunteers were meanwhile distributing clean drinking water and juice throughout the day.
TV footage showed women crying over the bodies of loved ones who had died because of the heat.
(MORE: India Heat Wave, Now 5th Deadliest on Record, Kills More Than 2,300) 
Syed Mannan Ahmed said his father collapsed Tuesday while going to buy groceries from a nearby shop. He said his family rushed the 64-year-old to a hospital but could not get treatment in time because it was packed with victims. Then they found that most of the mortuaries were full as well.
Another Karachi resident, Mohammad Ayaz, said hundreds of people were sleeping outside because of long power cuts. Wakil Ahmed said the weather had improved from previous days, when it was so hot it became difficult to breathe. He said Thursday brought clouds and a slight breeze.
While climate scientists can't blame human-caused global warming for Pakistan's heat wave without a time-consuming study, several said it fits with what is expected from climate change.
"The deadly heat wave that has killed several hundred people in Karachi, Pakistan, is clearly a harbinger of things to come with the changing climate," said Saleemul Huq, director of the International Center for Climate Change and Development in Bangladesh and a prominent climate scientist.
"Even if this particular event cannot be unequivocally attributed to human-induced climate change, we can certainly expect such heat waves with greater frequency in future."
Numerous studies over the past three years show that the number of prolonged heat waves has soared, and scientists have calculated that about three-quarters of record heat is due to human-caused climate change.
"I would estimate that the likelihood for such a heat wave in Pakistan would have increased several-fold due to global warming," said climate scientist Stefan Rahmstorf at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Research in Germany. "More likely than not, it would not have happened without global warming."
More extreme heat is on tap for the region this weekend, meaning the situation could worsen once again. 
 
"Unfortunately, high pressure aloft will strengthen over Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan this weekend, sending temperatures soaring back toward 40 Celsius - around 104 Fahrenheit," said Erdman.
 
MORE: Heat Waves Bake India, Pakistan

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