KARACHI: Under the influence of a heatwave that has gripped Sindh and Punjab, Karachiites experienced the hottest night in April on Friday when the mercury did not drop below 29.4 degrees Celsius, Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) officials said on Saturday.
The hottest place in the country in the daytime was Jacobabad where 49 degrees Celsius was recorded. “The night between Friday and Saturday was the hottest night in April in Karachi when the mercury did not drop below 29.4 degrees Celsius.
Previously, the hottest night in April was recorded in 2010 when the minimum temperature of 28 degrees Celsius was recorded in the night," Chief Meteorological Officer (CMO) Sindh Sardar Sarfraz told The News on Saturday. Maximum temperature in Karachi remained at 40.6 degrees Celsius on Saturday, he added.
Other cities of Sindh also remained in the grip of an extreme heatwave and in most cities, maximum temperature remained above 40 degrees, PMD officials said and added that Jacobabad remained the hottest place in Sindh where the mercury touched 49 degrees Celsius.
The second hottest place was Mohenjo Daro with 48 degrees Celsius, in Larkana and Nawabshah the mercury touched 47.5 degrees Celsius, Rohri 47 degrees Celsius, Padidan and Sakrand 46 degrees Celsius, in Chorr and Hyderabad temperature remained at 45.7 Celsius, in Sukkur and Mithi the temperature remained at 45.5 Celsius, in Mipurkhas the mercury touched 42.5 degrees Celisus.
In Balochistan, Sibbi and Turbat remained the hottest places with maximum temperature ranging between 47 and 46 degrees Celsius respectively, PMD officials said.
In Punjab, Bahawalpur remained the hottest city with maximum temperature reaching up to 46 degrees Celsius while in Faisalabad, Multan and Dera Ghazi Khan the maximum temperature remained at 45 degrees Celsius while in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the maximum temperature was recorded in Dera Ismail Khan which was 44 degrees Celsius.
Tando Jam was the coolest place in Sindh where the maximum temperature of 39 degrees Celsius was recorded, PMD officials said. Chief Meteorological Officer (CMO) Sindh Sardar Sarfraz said the prevailing severe heatwave conditions in interior Sindh would persist till Monday, May 2, adding that daytime maximum temperatures might rise to 46-48 degrees Celsius in Dadu, Shaheed Benazeerabad, Jacobabad, Larkana, Sukkur districts during the period.
Badin, Tharparkar, Umerkot and Hyderabad districts may experience maximum temperature 42-44 degrees Celsius, he said and advised people to take care during peak heatwave hours.
He said that weather was expected to remain very hot and dry with maximum temperature ranging between 38 and 40 degrees Celsius and added that there were chances of strong, dusty winds that might convert into duststorms occasionally.
The Met office said a westerly wave is likely to enter Balochistan from Monday and under its influence, dust-thunderstorm and rain is expected in Sukkur, Larkana, Dadu, Jacobabad Shikarpur and Kambar-Shahdadkot areas between May 2 and 4.
There are also chances of duststorm in Karachi, Hyderabad, Shaheed Benazirabad, Thatta, Badin, Mirpurkhas and Umerkot districts on May 2.
Meanwhile, provincial Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon advised citizens to take precautionary measures to save themselves, especially children and elderly people from the extreme heatwave. He said the province would be in the grip of the heatwave till May 2 and citizens should avoid leaving their homes unnecessarily during the day.
The minister said that the Sindh government had already directed the district administration to make arrangements and allocate special wards in hospitals and health centers for those affected by the heatwave. Sharjeel Memon urged school administrations to take necessary steps to protect young children from heatstroke.
News Desk adds: Northwest and central India experienced their hottest April in 122 years with average maximum temperatures reaching 35.9 and 37.78 degrees Celsius respectively, the weather office said on Saturday.
Addressing a press conference, India Meteorological Department Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said northwest and west central parts of the country -- Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana -- will continue to experience above normal temperatures in May as well, foreign media reported.
Nights would be warmer in May in most parts of the country, except some regions of south peninsular India, Mohapatra said.
The average temperatures observed pan-India for April was 35.05 degrees, which was the fourth highest in 122 years, he said.
"The average rainfall in May 2022 over the country is most likely to be above normal," the Meteorological Department DG said.
However, parts of northwest and northeast India as well as the extreme southeast Peninsula are expected to get below normal rainfall in May, he said.
The high temperatures in March and April were attributed to "continuously scanty rainfall activity", he said.
In March, northwest India recorded a deficit in rainfall of around 89 per cent, while the deficit was nearly 83 per cent in April, mainly on account of feeble and dry western disturbances, Mohapatra said.
North India witnessed six western disturbances but they were mostly feeble and moved across the higher parts of the Himalayas, he said, adding that the last three western disturbances caused strong winds in parts of Delhi and duststorms over Rajasthan in April.
