Climate change: April 2022 hottest month in last 61 years

KARACHI: The country has been experiencing severely hot conditions for the last two months -- March and April. Notably, April 2022 turned out to be the hottest month in the last 61 years.

The maximum temperature was recorded as 49°C in Jacobabad on April 30, 2022, Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) officials said on Monday.

“Both the months of March and April this year remained the warmest months in the history of Pakistan. In March, we have witnessed the hottest night in Karachi since 1961 when temperature remained 29.4 degrees Celsius while in April, minimum temperature of 28.5 degrees Celsius was recorded on April 29, 2022”, an official of the PMD said. Most of the plains in vast areas of the country including Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan are in the grip of severe heat, PMD officials and health experts said adding that climatic conditions were becoming increasingly favourable for the transmission of multiple infectious diseases by directly affecting biological features of pathogens including their growth survival and virulence.

“We are currently compiling the monthly climate summary for the month of April 2022 but it has emerged that it was the warmest month during last 61 years. Similarly, March 2022 was also the warmest month in the history of Pakistan as we haven’t seen such a drier and warmer month since 1961”, the official added.

The maximum temperature of 47 °C was recorded in Sibbi Balochistan on Monday under the influence of an intense heatwave that has gripped the country for last several days, officials said adding that Khairpur in Sindh was the second warmest place with 46 °C.

On the other hand, maximum temperature of 45 °C was recorded in Layyah, Jacobabad, Khanewal, Kot Ado on Monday, officials said. They said weather is likely to remain hot and dry in the plains of Punjab and Sindh on Tuesday.