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2015 Pakistan heat wave

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2015 Pakistani heatwave
2015 Pakistan heat wave is located in Pakistan
Karachi 45 °C (113 °F)
Karachi 45 °C (113 °F)
Turbat 49 °C (120 °F)
Turbat 49 °C (120 °F)
Larkana 49 °C (120 °F)
Larkana 49 °C (120 °F)
Rahim Yar Khan 43 °C (109 °F)
Rahim Yar Khan 43 °C (109 °F)
Multan 40 °C (104 °F)
Multan 40 °C (104 °F)
A map marking significantly affected cities
DateSince June 2015
LocationPakistan
Casualties
As of 24 June 2015, there have been more than 1,200 deaths[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]

A severe heat wave struck Pakistan in June 2015, mostly affecting Sindh, Southern Punjab, and Balochistan.[8][9][10][11][7][12] As of 24 June 2015, it has caused the deaths of more than 1,200 people, mostly in Karachi, and in some other areas.[1][13][14][15][4][5][9]

The 2015 heat wave has caused the highest recorded temperatures in Karachi since 1979.[9][16][17]

The event followed a heat wave in India which killed 2,500 people in May of the same year.[18][19][20]

Causes

Asif Shuja, the former director general of the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency, claimed the heat wave was a symptom of global climate change, aggravated by deforestation, expansion of asphalt-made super highways, and rapid urbanisation.[21] He maintained that "there has been a rise in the Earth's average temperature from 15.5 °C (59.9 °F) to 16.2 °C (61.2 °F) over the last 100 years due to which we are experiencing such extreme weather conditions both in summers and winters."[21] Shuja went on to say that the lack of sophisticated weather prediction technology in Pakistan contributed to the casualties of the heat wave. The electricity grid failed during the first day of Ramadan, when many Pakistanis do not drink during the daytime, leaving scores dead.[22][23]
In another incident the Pakistan Minister for Climate Change Senator Mushahidullah Khan has said that the coal-powered plants in Rajasthan, India, could have contributed to the deadly Karachi heat wave. In the minister’s view “a fallout effect of the coal-powered plants, in combination with other abnormal climate change events, possibly added to the already warm temperatures” in bordering Sindh region.[24]

Affected areas

Karachi

In Karachi alone, 1,000 died due to dehydration and heat stroke.[25][26][27][28][29] The total death toll in Sindh province is in the range of 1,011-1,213.[26][30][31][32] So far, 119 dead bodies were brought to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, 279 bodies to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) and 98 bodies to the Civil Hospital, whereas numerous dead were also shifted to private hospitals.[3][7][22][33] [34] The heatwave also claimed the lives of seven zoo animals.[35][36] The heat wave gripped the city on 18 June 2015.

City Province Number of deaths
Karachi Sindh 1,000
Hyderabad Sindh 34
Naushahro Feroze Sindh 3
Badin Sindh 5
Thatta Sindh 5
Tharparker Sindh 4
Total 1,200

Hyderabad

In Hyderabad, bodies of 15 people were brought to the Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences on 24 June 2015.[37][38]

Thatta

Five people died in Thatta in the interior Sindh.[7]

Tharparker

A health official reported the deaths of a man, an infant and two children, adding that the desert Tharparker District has been without electricity since 19 June.[21]

Recorded temperatures

High temperatures were recorded in Pakistan's southern areas.[39] The temperature ranged from 49 °C (120 °F) in Larkana and Sibi to 45 °C (113 °F) in Karachi. In southern Punjab, 40 °C (104 °F) was recorded in Multan whereas several areas of the Balochistan province were also affected where temperature touched 49 °C (120 °F) in Sibi and Turbat.[7][21][40][41]

Date Place Temperature
20 June 2015 Karachi 45 °C (113 °F)
20 June 2015 Larkana 49 °C (120 °F)
20 June 2015 Turbat 49 °C (120 °F)
20 June 2015 Sibi 49 °C (120 °F)
20 June 2015 Rahim Yar Khan 43 °C (109 °F)
20 June 2015 Dadu 44 °C (111 °F)
20 June 2015 Multan 40 °C (104 °F)
20 June 2015 Nawabshah 41 °C (106 °F)
20 June 2015 Hyderabad 42 °C (108 °F)

By Wednesday 24 June 2015, the high temperatures and horrific death tally each day, had begun "to abate"; the maximum temperature in Karachi was 98 degrees F, and officials reported "58 deaths ... compared to 300" the prior day.[42]

Relief efforts

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif warned electric supply companies that he would not tolerate power outages during Ramadan. Pakistani Prime Minister declared a state of emergency.[43] Karachi University postponed its exams for at least one month due to the intense heatwave.[44][45] Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah announced that an emergency has been declared in all the government hospitals of Karachi and other cities in Sindh for now.[22]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Deaths 1,200 as Karachi wilts under heat".
  2. ^ "Death and agony".
  3. ^ a b "CM Sindh surfaces as over 770 perish in blistering heat". Dawn News. 23 June 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  4. ^ a b "Opp calls for day of mourning over heatwave deaths".
  5. ^ a b "Heatwave in Karachi claims 600 lives in 72 hours". The News International. 23 June 2015.
  6. ^ "Pakistan heatwave kills 572, over 400 in Karachi".
  7. ^ a b c d e "Heatwave in southern Pakistan kills 260". Times of India. 22 June 2015. Archived from the original on 22 June 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  8. ^ "The Death Toll from Pakistan's Heatwave Is Now Nearing 450".
  9. ^ a b c "Heatwave in Pakistan's Sindh province leaves 120 dead". BBC. 22 June 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  10. ^ "Pakistan heat wave claims at least 140 lives in Karachi". CNN. 22 June 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  11. ^ "Heatwave kills around 400 people in Karachi".
  12. ^ "A Heat Wave in Pakistan Has Killed Around 140 People". Times. 22 June 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  13. ^ "Heatwave in Pakistan kills over 1,200, army called in to deal with situation".
  14. ^ "Karachi heat deaths not linked to power crisis: Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah".
  15. ^ "Pakistan heatwave death toll edges towards 800".
  16. ^ "Pakistan heatwave: Emergency measures as toll nears 700".
  17. ^ "Pakistan Hit by Worst Heat Wave in a Decade".
  18. ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/11645731/India-heatwave-death-toll-passes-2500-as-victim-families-fight-for-compensation.html
  19. ^ http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/06/02/us-india-climate-change-idUKKBN0OI1EI20150602
  20. ^ "Respite from heat likely from today". The Hindu (in Kinyarwanda). 27 May 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  21. ^ a b c d "Heat wave: Under scorching sun, Pakistan swelters". The Express Tribune. 21 June 2015. Archived from the original on 22 June 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  22. ^ a b c "Heatwave in Pakistan's Sindh province leaves 141 dead". Economic Times. 22 June 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  23. ^ "Heat wave kills more than 120 in Pakistan's Karachi". Reuters. 22 June 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  24. ^ "Hot air from Rajasthan power plants may have fanned Karachi heatwave". Dawn. 25 June 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  25. ^ "Death toll from Karachi heatwave exceeds 1,000".
  26. ^ a b "Heatwave death toll in Sindh tops 1,000".
  27. ^ "Heat wave deaths in Pakistan's financial hub reach 780".
  28. ^ "Brutal Pakistan heatwave kills 630 people in Karachi".
  29. ^ "Karachi heat wave death toll climbs to 1003".
  30. ^ "Heatwave in Pakistan kills over 1,200".
  31. ^ "Over 1,200 died due to heatwave across Sindh, Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah tells NA".
  32. ^ "Killer heatwave: Mercury drops but death toll continues to rise".
  33. ^ "Sindh heatwave death toll surpasses 300". The Daily Dispatch. 24 June 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  34. ^ "Pakistan: Sindh heatwave claims 140 lives mostly in Karachi". IB TImes. 22 June 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  35. ^ "Heatwave kills four more animals at zoo".
  36. ^ "Karachi heatwave claims lives of three zoo animals".
  37. ^ "Heatstroke continues to take its toll in Sindh towns".
  38. ^ "At least 33 die from heat wave in interior Sindh".
  39. ^ "#HeatWave: Sindh can take lessons from Ahmedabad's Heat Action Plan".
  40. ^ "Temperature soars to 46, load shedding adds to woes". Geo TV. 20 June 2015. Archived from the original on 22 June 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  41. ^ "Pakistan melts under scorching heat, hottest year recorded". Pakistan Today. 21 June 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  42. ^ "Temperature and Daily Death Toll Fall as Heat Wave Appears to Abate in Pakistan". New York Times. 25 June 2015. p. A12. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)
  43. ^ "Pakistan Declares a State of Emergency as the Heatwave Death Toll Soars to Nearly 800".
  44. ^ "Heatwave kills 90 in Karachi as residents grapple with power outages". Express Tribune. 22 June 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  45. ^ "Heatwave kills more than 120 in Pakistan". Telegraph. 22 June 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
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