At 44°C, Karachi endures hottest day of the year

Karachi experienced the hottest day of the year on Thursday as the temperature soared to 44 degrees Celsius after the sea breeze towards the city stopped due to a low pressure area on upper Sindh.

The sweltering heat forced many people to remain indoors during the day. The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) had earlier forecast the temperature to remain between the range of 41°C and 43°C.

“Against our expectations, the temperature swelled to 44°C, which is a degree higher than our forecast for the day, but we’re expecting the mercury to remain at 42°C on Friday,” Met Office city chief Abdul Rashid told The News. He said the temperature will start falling on Saturday.

Officials said Thursday was the hottest day in Karachi so far this year. They said that although the highest temperature in May was recorded in 1938 at 47.8°C, chances are that this record may be broken this month, as the entire region is in the grip of severe heat.

Pakistan made a record on April 30 when Nawabshah became the hottest place in the month of April in the world after the mercury touched 50.2°C, while in March the highest temperature records of 30 cities were broken in the entire country.

In the grip of heat

The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has confirmed that Pakistan is in the grip of severe hot and dry conditions that started back in March, while in April Nawabshah became the hottest place on earth.

“Persistent hot conditions in the lower half of Pakistan continue that started in late March when the thermal regime had broken previous highest records for March at more than 30 sites,” read a WMO statement on Thursday.

“Another exceptional hot spell for the second time in the year 2018 affected large parts below 30 degrees north latitude in April. Initially, the heating initiated over a relatively small part of the country in mid-April.

“In late April, the heat extended over a much larger area and peaked on April 29 and 30 when many records were set over large parts of the Sindh province.”  

Very hot Ramazan

PMD officials predict a hot to very hot Ramazan in Karachi and the rest of Sindh due to prevailing hot and dry conditions under the influence of climate change and its effects across the world.

Experts say a major portion of the world from Eastern Europe to South Asia is under a massive heat dome that has been building since the third week of April.

“Heat domes occur when an area of high pressure camps over a region, causing dry air to sink. As it sinks, that air gets compressed and releases heat, leading to sizzling temperatures,” an expert said, adding that a low pressure area on upper Sindh is causing extreme temperature rise in Karachi.  

Routine life disrupted

The intense heat in the metropolis affected routine activities on Thursday, as many people did not send their children to schools after the Met Office issued a warning of very hot and dry weather for the day.

The number of vehicles and people on the city’s busy streets and thoroughfares was also lower than usual because of the hot and dry conditions in the metropolis.

Jinnah Hospital chief Dr Seemin Jamali said no heatstroke patient from any part of the city was brought to them, but they had taken all the required precautionary measures to deal with any emergency.

“We have learnt a lot from 2015’s deadly heatwave when we had received more than 20,000 patients in three consecutive days, many of them dead on arrival, while our staff was also exhausted and astonished at the magnitude of the situation. But this time we are fully prepared and ready to deal with any eventuality.”

She said that although they have improved their facilities by enhancing the covered area of their accident & emergency department and providing a better rest and sitting area for the attendants of patients, people have become more aware of the precautionary measures to adopt in case of severe heat due to mass awareness campaigns.

After the mercury hit 44°C, the health department of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) declared a high alert at its 13 major hospitals and dispensaries across the city, cancelled all leave applications of its health staff and directed the hospitals to be prepared for all patients showing heatstroke symptoms.

“We are on high alert after the current weather conditions,” said Dr Birbal Genani, senior director of the KMC’s Medical & Health Services. “Our hospitals are fully prepared and we have all the required resources at our disposal to deal with any emergency in the city due to the prevailing hot and dry weather conditions.”

Heatwaves expected

A day earlier, PMD chief Dr Ghulam Rasul had warned that chances of heatwaves this month and the next are very high. He defined a heatwave as an increase of five degrees in the mercury from a normal or average temperature persisting for three or more days.

He said the Met Office will issue a special advisory prior to the onset of any heatwave in any part of the country so that people and the authorities can take precautionary measures.

The Met chief said the mercury in Karachi will remain a degree or two above the normal temperature in May and June, adding that the average temperature this month has been 38°C, which means that it is expected to rise to 39°C or 40°C.

“Chances of heatwaves in the country this month and in the following months are very high. The coastal areas especially may have to endure heatwaves if the sea breeze stops blowing under the influence of a low pressure area in the Arabian Sea.”

Dr Rasul said the people of Karachi should remain alert if a heatwave warning is issued for the city. Following the deadly heatwave of June 2015, Met officials had started warning people in advance about the sudden rise in temperature, changes in the wind directions and humidity.

Although the temperature in the city did not cross 36.5°C on Wednesday, there were reports of people falling unconscious due to suffocation and hot and humid conditions.

The Met chief said that after the 2015 heatwave, they had established a Heatwave Early Warning Centre in Karachi that provides the forecast for three consecutive days in case the temperature is expected to rise above normal, so people and the authorities can be forewarned to take precautionary measures.

“We are also in touch with the K-Electric and have advised them to manage their load due to expected rise in the temperature, especially in the low-income group areas, where people don’t have alternative means of keeping their fans running.”