Daily Times

Before tropical cyclone Vayu sweeps along Sindh’s the coastal line, the government must ensure that areas falling within the red line are evacuated and the fishermen are home not in the open sea. The Pakistan Meteorological Department has issued a warning that the tropical cyclone in the East Arabian Sea is developing intensity. Cyclones are not entirely predictable with regard to their intensity and direction. This means the public must be updated about the cyclone on a regular basis until it has gone past or lost steam and slackened into insignificance. In this instance, India has evacuated nearly three million people, mostly in Gujarat. Now, we hear that it has changed course without hitting the Indian coasts. The standard operating procedures with regard to cyclones include regulating road and rail traffic, stopping fishing operations, evacuating people from low lying areas and nearby urban slum dwellers and shifting people to safe places from unsafe or dilapidated houses.

Acceding to the Met forecast, the cyclone is expected to cause heavy rains in Badin, Thatta and Tharparkar on Thursday and Friday. Thunder and showers are also expected in the rest of Sindh. Fishermen have been told to avoid venturing into the open sea which is expected to remain rough. Another impact of the cyclone will be a heat wave in other parts of Sindh. The cyclone will suppress the sea breeze, which will result in more humidity in coastal areas of Sindh, including Karachi. The heat is already making life hard. There should be timely effort to raise awareness of the risks associated with a heat wave. On Thursday, temperature in the shade in Karachi was 42 degrees Celsius. A heat wave like those witnessed in 2015 and 2018 is thus a distinct possibility. In 2015, more than 2,000 people were affected – mostly through dehydration. In 2018, more than 60 people had died in Karachi alone in May.

Having learnt its lesson, the provincial government has set up response centres and relief and shelter centres along roads to provide shelter, treatment and water to the affected people. It has also put hospitals on alert. These measures are worth praising but raising awareness of the impact the weather can have is essential. Many people still find the advice to be hydrated at all times in the summer months boring. The kind of ignorance can be fatal; too often it is. *