Heatwave hits Karachi, Lahore

KARACHI/LAHORE: The residents of Karachi faced immense problems due to prolonged power outages throughout the city on Saturday as the weather became excruciating hot, with mercury lingering between 39 to 41°c. While sizzling heat also made life miserable in Lahore.

Residents of the metropolis faced more than 10 hours of power outage on Friday. The Karachi-Electric (KE) Corporation sent messages to consumers explaining that due to the increase in heat and low gas pressure, coupled with the increased demand they had to resort to load management Rejecting its claims, Federal Minister Omar Ayub Khan said the Sui Southern Gas Company is providing more than the necessary gas supply to KE. Besdies, an additional 150MW are being supplied from the national grid, the minister said.

Karachi's residents faced more problems due to a power breakdown at Dhabeji water pumping station. A 72-inch diameter pipeline burst due to which more than 100 million gallons of water could not be supplied to Karachi. Later in the day, KE claimed to have restored the electric supply to the water station. However, the spokesman of the Water Board said it can take up to 90 hours to restore water supply to the city. In a turn of events, the Met department has predicted rain in Karachi, Hyderabad and Mirpirkhas.

Meanwhile, Lahore also sizzled as the temperature soared to 40°c, matching pace with the rest of the cities, especially across Sindh. The Meteorological Department said the temperature will likely rise to 41 to 42°c. The Met department added the weather might improve around night. The other cities also faced similarly scorching weather of June.