Daily Times

The spell of severe heat wave continued in the province on Sunday with temperatures reaching 44 degree Celsius.

The highest temperature was recorded in the provincial capital at around 3pm, according to Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD).

“The heatwave would reach on its peak between Monday and Wednesday. Temperature will shoot even higher during the two days, and there will be no sea breeze to ameliorate the affect of the heat.

A fresh advisory issued by the PMD on Sunday evening warned that in many districts of Sindh, temperature could hit as high as 50 degree Celsius.

Met office further said that continental air was prevailing over most parts of the country and mainly hot and dry weather is expected in the next 24 hours.

Meanwhile, it also stated that the ongoing spell is likely to extend by up to four or five days, meaning that the heatwave may not go away until the first week of June.

The Met Office advisory stated that extreme temperatures could be reported from Sibi, Jacobabad, Larkana, Nawabshah, and Dadu, and advised authorities in these areas to take precautionary measures.

Since the start of the summer season this year, there have been three heatwaves, Met official said.

Earlier, on Saturday, the PMD had said the lack of incoming sea breeze was the primary reason for the temperature rise.

To beat the heat and avoid the dangers of heatstroke, it’s important to stay hydrated and avoid the sun as far as possible. Experts suggest that if it is entirely impossible to venture outside, people should keep their heads covered against the sun all the time.

Following the deadly heatwave in 2015, the city authorities had gotten together to formulate a plan to manage emergent situations in future. Under the Heatwave Management Plan, a steering committee has been formed that includes representatives of various provincial departments and the metropolitan corporation, besides having representation of philanthropies like Edhi Foundation and Chippa Foundation. The committee has been formed with the purpose to coordinate efforts to deal with emergencies.

Outages continue: Meanwhile, several parts of Karachi plunged into darkness late on Saturday night, despite K-Electric’s repeated assurances to end the load-shedding at least in areas previously exempted from power outages.

Many Karachi residents were forced to have their Sehr meals in the dark on Sunday as load-shedding persisted, making the hot weather harder to bear in the holy month of Ramazan.

The metropolis’ sole supplier of electricity had said on Saturday it would try its best not to carry out load-shedding during Sehr and Iftar hours, adding that people should not label technical faults as load-shedding.

However, Sher Shah, Baloch para, North Karachi, Korangi, Gulistan-e-Jauhar Block-13 and several other localities continued to face power outages.

Published in Daily Times, May 21^st 2018.