Punishing heatwave persists in Pakistan

KARACHI: Amid hours-long power breakdowns, the Nawabshah town of Sindh remained the hottest place in Pakistan on Sunday where the mercury soared to 49.5 degree Celsius under the influence of an intense heatwave that has gripped the plains of Sindh and Punjab, Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) officials said.

"Under the influence of an intense heatwave in Sindh, the mercury touched 49.5 degrees Celsius in Shaheed Benazirabad (Nawabshah) on Sunday. Other cities of interior Sindh also experienced extremely hot and dry weather including Jacobabad with 49 degree Celsius, Mohenjodaro 48.5C, Larkana, Sakrand and Padidan experienced 48 degree Celsius on Sunday," an official of the PMD told The News. A maximum temperature of 39 degrees Celsius was recorded in Karachi on Sunday.

People from different cities of Sindh complained of unannounced loadshedding and hours long power breakdowns amid extremely high temperatures, saying due to high fuel cost, they were unable to use generators for domestic power generation. “It is like living in hell these days in Nawabshah with no power most of the day and night. The mercury touched 50 degrees Celsius in the day in Nawabshah and even at night, it is 45 degrees Celsius in the city while don’t have power at the moment," Najaf Raza, a journalist from Balochistan, told The News.

In Punjab, Rahim Yar Khan remained the hottest place with the maximum temperature of 47.5 degree Celsius, PMD officials said adding that Bahawalpur experienced 47C, Dera Ghazi Khan, Multan, Sargodha and Jehlum 45C while temperature in Lahore remained at 42 degrees Celsius.

In Balochistan, Sibbi remained the hottest place with 47 degree Celsius followed by Turbat with 43 degree Celsius while in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Dera Ismail Khan remained the hottest place with 45 degree Celsius followed by Peshawar and Bannu with 42 degree Celsius in each city.

Muzaffarabad in Azad Kashmir remained the hottest place with maximum temperature of 41 degree Celsius, PMD officials said adding that even in Islamabad, maximum temperature of 41 degree Celsius was recorded on Sunday.

The PMD officials predicted similar weather in the plains of Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan with very hot and dry weather, saying in most of the cities of Sindh, the maximum temperature is expected to remain above 40 degrees while in cities like Nawabshah, Jacobabad, Larkana, the maximum temperature is expected to remain between 45-47 degree Celsius. They said under the influence of a westerly weather system, dust storm followed by rain was expected in upper Sindh, south Punjab and in some areas of Balochistan.