Pakistan, India reel under intense heat wave

[daytrader]

• Pakistani minister says March was hottest on record since 1961
• Warns of flash-floods from glacial melting in Himalayas
• India expects heat wave to last at least three more days
• Scientists link heat wave to climate change

PESHAWAR, Pakistan/AHMEDABAD,India, April 29 (Reuters) - Pakistan issued a heat warning after the hottest March in 61 years while in parts of neighbouring India schools were shut and streets deserted as an intense heave wave on Friday showed no signs of abating.

Pakistan's Federal Minister for Climate Change, Sherry Rehman, urged the federal and provincial governments to take precautionary measures to manage the intense heat wave, which touched highs of 47 degrees Celsius (116.6 Fahrenheit) in parts of the country.

"South Asia, particularly India and Pakistan are faced with what has been a record-breaking heatwave. It started in early April and continues to leave the people gasping in whatever shade they find," Rehman said in a statement.

Temperatures were predicted to rise by 6 to 8 degrees Celsius above average temperatures after the hottest March on record since 1961, she said.

More than a billion people are at risk of heat-related impacts in the region, scientists have warned, linking the early onset of an intense summer to climate change. For the first time in decades, Pakistan had gone from winter to summer without the spring season, Rehman said.

The government has also told provincial disaster management authorities to prepare urgently for the risk of flash-flooding in northern mountainous provinces due to rapid glacial melting, Rehman said.

Glaciers in the Himalaya, Hindu Kush and Karkoram mountain ranges have melted rapidly, creating thousand of glacial lakes in northern Pakistan, around 30 of which were at risk of sudden hazardous flooding, the climate change ministry said, adding around 7 million people were vulnerable.

A senior scientist at the India Meteorological Department said on Friday heat conditions would persist for at least the next three days, but that temperatures would fall after the arrival of monsoons, expected in some parts by May.

The health problems triggered by the heatwave were posing a bigger worry than the expected fourth wave of COVID-19, doctors in India said.

"We are getting many patients who have suffered heatstroke or other heat-related problems," said Mona Desai, former president of Ahmedabad Medical Association in the western Indian state of Gujarat.

She said that 60-70% of the patients were school-aged complaining of vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal colic, weakness and other symptoms.

Roads were deserted in Bhubaneshwar, in India's eastern state of Odisha, where schools have been shut, while neighbouring West Bengal advanced the school summer break by a few days.

In Pakistan, the lead up to the religious holiday of Eid was dampened by the intense heat and regular power cuts as most of the population refrained from eating food and drinking water during daylight hours for the holy month of Ramadan.

The increased demand for power from rising temperatures combined with fuel shortages and infrastructure issues put pressure on Pakistan's electricity system, leading to regular power cuts, known as load shedding.

Residents of northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province said that at times the power was out for between 10 and 14 hours a day, leaving few options to cool down.

"The weather is unreasonably hot these days but the hours' long power load shedding....further added to our miseries," said Abdul Salam Khan, owner of a shoe brand in the northern city of Peshawar

Khan said the heat wave had dented an expected surge in shoe sales ahead of Eid as many people stayed home in the intense heat while their stores struggled to operate during power cuts.

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/pakistan-india-reel-under-intense-heat-wave-2022-04-29/

 

[daytrader]

 

[MenInG]

and now this

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">There’s a massive outbreak of cholera/gastritis in Lahore. 75% of the patients we’re receiving are coming with watery diarrhoea. Wash Hands rigorously. Avoid public Bathrooms. Use bottled water. Avoid street side drinks. Save your hydration status, save your kidneys from failure.</p>— Hamd Nawaz (@_myocardium_) <a href="https://twitter.com/_myocardium_/status/1520309374648209409?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 30, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Saj]

Temperatures in Pakistan today

Sibi 47 C
Nawabshah 45 C
D G Khan 45 C
Faisalabad 45 C
Lahore 43 C
Muzaffarabad 40C
Karachi 38C

 

[jeetu]

I havn't seen this intense heat in Delhi in many years. Its feeling worse now than in June21. I'm already dreading water and power shortage if this continues one more month.

 

[James]

Scorcher!!

Think the hottest temperature that I have ever experienced was 42 degrees Celsius (in the south of Spain) and that was unbearable.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Scorcher!!

Think the hottest temperature that I have ever experienced was 42 degrees Celsius (in the south of Spain) and that was unbearable.

It's very worrying. April fair enough, but March used to the start of really nice weather in Pakistan, you are talking temperatures in the 20's, this time we have seen it hit 40's which you usually get in peak summer.

 

[moghul]

Temperatures in Pakistan today

Sibi 47 C
Nawabshah 45 C
D G Khan 45 C
Faisalabad 45 C
Lahore 43 C
Muzaffarabad 40C
Karachi 38C

And this is not May yet. June is the hottest months in Pakistan , generally .

 

[jeetu]

Yesterday my thermometer showed temperature on my balcony at 46 C. This use to be worse day temperature in June for few days.

 

[DRsohail]

Yesterday my thermometer showed temperature on my balcony at 46 C. This use to be worse day temperature in June for few days.

Pakistan and India have to plant more and more trees, otherwise we are Ian a very dangey situation.

 

[MenInG]

 

[MenInG]

The frequency and duration of heat waves have gradually increased in Pakistan as 11 of the 15 hottest years have all occurred since 2004. Since then there has also been a dramatic spike in tropical cyclone activity in the Arabian Sea. There is no single event that is driving such change but multiple factors especially the human-influenced climate change and inadequately managed urban centers.

‘Unprecedented’! The rising temperature is becoming a norm

While April and May are the hottest months of the year in the country when the temperature easily crosses 45°C to bake many parts of Pakistan endlessly. What sets the current heat wave apart from its predecessors is its early onset, longevity, and the year in which it struck.

Unbearable heatwave has gripped Pakistan and India since March
Spring was skipped! March of 2022 has been the warmest in 61 years in Pakistan. The monthly mean temperature was 22.92°C. According to the government’s estimate, it is 4.26°C above normal than the average monthly of 18.66°C. Comparably, temperatures are 6°C to 8°C above average in many cities of the country in April. The cities of Nawabshah and Dadu in Sindh province reported 48°C on April 27 and April 28 respectively. Jacobabad again in Sindh recorded 49°C on 30th April. The capital of the province, Karachi, with an unofficial population of 20 million, has recorded an average high of 37.3°C this April. It is 2°C above normal from its average April temp of 35°C. Over the last 60 years, Karachi’s average temperature has risen from 2.25°C to 3°C along with a sharp increase in monsoon precipitation in some years.

Read more on

https://pakistanweatherportal.com/2...eat-waves-are-a-cause-of-concern-in-pakistan/

 

[IAJ]

Let’s pray for rain, that is much needed right now and will cool down this situation hopefully.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Let’s pray for rain, that is much needed right now and will cool down this situation hopefully.

Maybe a rain dance could help?

 

[MenInG]

KARACHI: With the plains of Sindh and Punjab gripped by the ongoing heatwave, Shaheed Benazirabad in Sindh remained the hottest place in Pakistan as the mercury shot up to 49.5 degrees Celsius amid hours-long power outages across the country, The News reported Monday, citing Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) officials.

Besides Shaheed Benazirabad, "other cities of interior Sindh also witnessed extremely hot and dry weather with 49°C in Jacobabad, 48.5°C in Mohenjodaro and 48°C in Larkana, Sakrand and Padidan on Sunday" under the influence of an intense heatwave in Sindh, a Met department official said.

Meanwhile, the highest temperature in Karachi was recorded at 39° on Sunday.

The entire country sweated as different cities reported hours of unannounced load-shedding and power cuts amid extremely high temperatures. The citizens said they were unable to use generators for domestic power generation due to high fuel costs.

“It is like living in hell these days in Nawabshah with no power most of the day and night. The mercury touched 50°C in the day in Nawabshah and even at night, it is 45°C in the city while don’t have power at the moment," Najaf Raza, a journalist from Balochistan said.

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

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

Muzaffarabad in Azad Kashmir remained the hottest place with maximum temperature of 41°C, PMD officials said adding that even in Islamabad, maximum temperature of 41°C 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°C while in cities like Nawabshah, Jacobabad, Larkana, the maximum temperature is expected to remain between 45-47°C.

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.

GEO

 

[daytrader]

Sherry calls for taking climate crisis seriously
Sherry Rehman said the catastrophe arises when the melting snow unleashes these lakes as a racing flood that rips out everything in its way

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Climate Change in Pakistan Sherry Rehman called for taking the climate crisis seriously and said Pakistan is right now bracing for a heat wave, with unprecedented high temperatures creating climate emergencies from north to south of the country.

“Because of our northern mountain ranges and glaciers, we anticipate Global Lake Outburst Floods, where glacial lakes first form due to snow melt on the glaciers,” she said while calling to take the climate change seriously.

Sherry Rehman said the catastrophe arises when the melting snow unleashes these lakes as a racing flood that rips out everything in its way. “These pose serious risks and vulnerability for the local and downstream population as Pakistan right now has over 3044 such lakes identified in the mountains,” she said.

She said the mountains are also exposed to forest fires and sudden bush combustion events, which we struggle to cope with. “So far, our response teams are vigilant, but of course one cannot predict what will happen with a higher scale of sudden and extreme weather events,” she said.

For the south, she said hugely reduced rainfall, sizzling temperatures will expose people who work in the field or on urban sites in the open sun to dangerous dehydration, while crops will yield reduced harvests as the water reservoirs dry up. “Our big dams are at dead level right now, and sources of water are scarce as well as contested between riparians among the Indus and its canals,” she said.

She said this is an all-encompassing existential crisis, and must be taken seriously. She said while Pakistan strives to reduce its Green House Gas (GHG) emissions it is really the victim of other big polluters.

She said it is in fact a contributor of only 0.81 % of GHG emissions globally and our number is 132nd in the list out of 190 countries while Pakistan’s per capita GHG emissions are less than 1%.

She said there is clearly an urgent need for better public service communication and crisis preparedness from the NDMA and provincial governments. “Learning from our past experiences we must remember that the heat wave in 2015 took more than a thousand lives in Karachi, and in 2015 it happened during Ramazan when people couldn’t keep themselves sufficiently hydrated,” he said.

She said the climate and weather events are here to stay and will in fact only accelerate in their scale and intensity of global leaders don’t act now.”
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/955181-sherry-calls-for-taking-climate-crisis-seriously

 

[cric_man]

Sherry calls for taking climate crisis seriously
Sherry Rehman said the catastrophe arises when the melting snow unleashes these lakes as a racing flood that rips out everything in its way

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Climate Change in Pakistan Sherry Rehman called for taking the climate crisis seriously and said Pakistan is right now bracing for a heat wave, with unprecedented high temperatures creating climate emergencies from north to south of the country.

“Because of our northern mountain ranges and glaciers, we anticipate Global Lake Outburst Floods, where glacial lakes first form due to snow melt on the glaciers,” she said while calling to take the climate change seriously.

Sherry Rehman said the catastrophe arises when the melting snow unleashes these lakes as a racing flood that rips out everything in its way. “These pose serious risks and vulnerability for the local and downstream population as Pakistan right now has over 3044 such lakes identified in the mountains,” she said.

She said the mountains are also exposed to forest fires and sudden bush combustion events, which we struggle to cope with. “So far, our response teams are vigilant, but of course one cannot predict what will happen with a higher scale of sudden and extreme weather events,” she said.

For the south, she said hugely reduced rainfall, sizzling temperatures will expose people who work in the field or on urban sites in the open sun to dangerous dehydration, while crops will yield reduced harvests as the water reservoirs dry up. “Our big dams are at dead level right now, and sources of water are scarce as well as contested between riparians among the Indus and its canals,” she said.

She said this is an all-encompassing existential crisis, and must be taken seriously. She said while Pakistan strives to reduce its Green House Gas (GHG) emissions it is really the victim of other big polluters.

She said it is in fact a contributor of only 0.81 % of GHG emissions globally and our number is 132nd in the list out of 190 countries while Pakistan’s per capita GHG emissions are less than 1%.

She said there is clearly an urgent need for better public service communication and crisis preparedness from the NDMA and provincial governments. “Learning from our past experiences we must remember that the heat wave in 2015 took more than a thousand lives in Karachi, and in 2015 it happened during Ramazan when people couldn’t keep themselves sufficiently hydrated,” he said.

She said the climate and weather events are here to stay and will in fact only accelerate in their scale and intensity of global leaders don’t act now.”
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/955181-sherry-calls-for-taking-climate-crisis-seriously

Hopefully they don't start yanking out all the trees planted by PTI out of spite.

 

[Champ_Pal]

View attachment 115752

Feel for the people who live in those dark spots where it is above 50 Degrees.

Unfortunately there is no solution for this. Too many people and too little resources. Planting big shady trees can help to some extent. But people chop them for fuel to cook.

 

[Champ_Pal]

Kerala and Bangladesh seem to be doing much better.

 

[MenInG]

An extreme heatwave sits over southern Asia, hitting early and without precedent. March was the hottest in India since records began 122 years ago. In Delhi, temperatures are expected to pass 44C this week; in Pakistan’s Balochistan region, the mercury has been touching 50C for some time. Crops are failing and there are power shortages as the demand for electricity soars. Uncontrollable fires are breaking out, including in landfill sites on the outskirts of Delhi, adding to the toxic air.

The Indian Premier League continues regardless. Last week the Royal Challengers Bangalore captain, Faf du Plessis, talked about the challenges of playing in such debilitating conditions. “I take a lot of fluids before the game,” he said. “We practised today and it was very, very hot. It’s good to get your body used to what you are going to get with respect to the conditions. But also, on the day, it is very important to try and manage the intensity. When it is very hot, like it is at the moment, you have got to make sure you conserve as much as you can.”

“For instance, when you’re batting,” agreed the RCB bowler Harshal Patel, “when there’s a definite two, you try and take a two, but when there’s not a definite two, just try and conserve some energy.”

The 2019 Hit for Six report examined the physical and psychological risks to cricketers from intense heat, from heatstroke to impaired decision-making. It pointed to the particular dangers to athletes of high wet-bulb temperatures, which measure how well humans cool down by sweating when it’s hot and humid. A wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) of more than 35C is deadly – last week it hit 29C in cities in West Bengal and Odisha. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that extreme caution is taken with any continuous exercise with a WBGT of 23C and over.

Among other things, Hit for Six suggested that countries came up with heat rules, heat-resistant clothing and reminded governing bodies they had a duty of care to children, who are less able to regulate their body temperatures and have none of the resources of IPL teams, with physios on hand to ensure the players are properly hydrated, have prepared properly and can cool down their core temperatures with ice towels handed to them on the boundary.

Disha Shetty, a science journalist based in south Asia and a reporter for The Fuller Project, sees a real lack of engagement with the dangers of climate change. “We are having some conversations about why our school students are stepping out in that heat, but it needs a lot more engagement on the public health side, as well as decision-makers across different sectors, including sports administrators. Extreme heat, coupled with dehydration, can be deadly.

“I think in developing countries we have had a tendency to not invest much in public health but the climate crisis is a public health crisis. While this is understood in climate circles and public health circles, it isn’t acknowledged much outside of that. We have to have big conversations on how we manage sports facilities given both the high air pollution levels in south Asia and now the extreme heat. At the moment we just kind of live with it but there are certain things we are just not going to be able to live with and heatwaves will be one of them.”

In late April the Indian PFA wrote to the Indian Football Association, asking it to reschedule matches that were set to kick off at 3pm in the state of West Bengal with temperatures sitting at around 40C: “The health ministry’s notification states that people should stay indoors during this heatwave … it is rather sad and unfortunate that the Federation and the league organisers of the country have no concern on the health hazard faced by professional footballers playing in these extreme conditions.”

In India, though, it is cricketers, not footballers, who have voices loud enough to reach government – just as Marcus Rashford was able to in the UK over free school meals. For Shetty, cricketing voices could be crucial in increasing both action and understanding.

“Cricketers in India have a lot of clout, a lot of following, and it would help tremendously if they would talk more about climate and environmental issues. I also wonder how sustainable sports will be in this changing climate. Cricket is a low-cost way of entertainment and joy but it is played out in the open and in a heating world that is going to be increasingly problematic.”

Sherry Rehman, Pakistan’s minister for climate, told the Guardian Pakistan was facing an “existential crisis” – one that links it with India and other countries in the global south who are and will be experiencing the climate emergency disproportionately to their historic emissions.

“I see a distinct difference in the way this heatwave is covered in the Indian media and the western media,” says Shetty. “In the western media, questions are centred around what should Indian and Pakistan leaders do, whereas in the Indian media we are talking a lot more about equity and how the rest of the world is going to have to reduce its carbon emissions.

“We are talking about what historically high carbon emitters are going to do to help those without that footprint – a conversation that I don’t see a lot of western publications having. In terms of climate change, the solutions are going to be global and not just something the developing world has to grapple with. Global climate emissions have to be brought down, not just in India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh.”

This idea was touched upon in the Hit for Six report, when it suggested the ICC set up a global climate fund to help countries particularly hit by the climate crisis. Three years on, no known progress has been made.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2...ly-how-cricket-is-handling-the-climate-crisis

 

[jeetu]

Finally some respite in Delhi. 5 min of hail and 15 min of rain. I think its first time i saw rain since early February.

 

[MenInG]

The Pakistan Meteorological Department on Friday forecast "severe heatwave conditions" across Pakistan during the next week, stating that high pressure was likely to grip the upper atmosphere from Sunday (May 8).

"Due to this high pressure, day temperatures are likely to increase gradually in most parts of the country from Sunday," the department said.

It added that the temperature during the day was likely to remain between 7-9 degrees Celsius above normal in upper Punjab, Islamabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir.

Meanwhile, the temperature during the day In upper and central Sindh, central and south Punjab and parts of Balochistan would likely remain 6-8 degrees Celsius above normal.

The Met Office also warned of the possible impact of the heatwave, saying very hot and dry weather could put stress on reservoirs, crops, vegetables and orchards.

"High temperature may cause increased energy demand," it said, adding that it may also increase the "base flow in the rivers during the next week".

The department advised farmers to manage water for crops accordingly, and urged the general public to avoid unnecessary exposure to direct sunlight and to use water judiciously in "all aspects of life".

DAWN

 

[MenInG]

The devastating heatwave that gripped India and Pakistan over the last two months is unprecedented, but worse -- perhaps far worse -- is on the horizon as climate change continues apace, top climate scientists told AFP.

Even without additional global warming South Asia is, statistically speaking, ripe for a "big one" in the same way that California is said to be overdue for a major earthquake, according to research published this week.

Extreme heat across much of India and neighbouring Pakistan in March and April exposed more than a billion people to scorching temperatures well above 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit). The hottest part of the year is yet to come.

"This heatwave is likely to kill thousands," tweeted Robert Rohde, lead scientist at Berkeley Earth, a climate science research non-profit.

The number of excess deaths, especially among the elderly poor, will only become apparent in hindsight.

Heatwave mortality in India has increased by more than 60 percent since 1980, according to the country's Ministry of Earth Sciences.

But "cascading impacts" on agricultural output, water, energy supplies and other sectors are already apparent, World Meteorological Organization chief Petteri Taalas said this week.

Air quality has deteriorated, and large swathes of land are at risk of extreme fire danger.

Power blackouts last week as electricity demand hit record levels served as a warning of what might happen if temperatures were to climb even higher.

For climate scientists, none of this came as a surprise.

"What I find unexpected is most people being shocked, given how long we have been warned about such disasters coming," Camilo Mora, a professor at the University of Hawaii, told AFP.

"This region of the world, and most other tropical areas, are among the most vulnerable to heatwaves."

The new normal

In a benchmark 2017 study, Mora calculated that nearly half the global population will be exposed to "deadly heat" 20 days or more each year by 2100, even if global warming is capped under two degrees Celsius, the cornerstone target of the Paris Agreement.

To what extent is climate change to blame for the scorched Earth temperatures just now easing up in India and Pakistan?

Scientists at Imperial College London's Grantham Institute led by Friederike Otto, a pioneer in the field of attribution science, are crunching the numbers.

"How much more likely and intense this particular heatwave has become is something we're still working on," she told AFP.

"But there is no doubt that climate change is a huge game changer when it comes to extreme heat," she added. "What we see right now will be normal, if not cool, in a 2C to 3C world."

Earth's surface, on average, is 1.1C above preindustrial levels. National carbon cutting pledges under the Paris Agreement, if fulfilled, would still see the world warm 2.8 degrees.

In India and Pakistan, "more intense heat waves of longer durations and occurring at a higher frequency are projected," the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said in a recent landmark report.

"Before human activities increased global temperatures, we would have seen the heat that hit India around once in 50 years," said Marian Zachariah, a researcher at Imperial College London.

"But now we can expect such high temperatures about once ever four years."

Continued global warming, in other words, guarantees greater heat extremes in the coming decades.

Wet-bulb temperature
But things may get worse even sooner, according to a new study in Science Advances.

A team led by Vikki Thompson of Bristol University ranked the world's most severe heatwaves since 1960. Their benchmark, however, was not maximum temperatures, but how hot it got compared to what would be expected for the region.

Surprisingly, South Asia was nowhere near the top of the list.

"When defined in terms of deviation from the local norm, heatwaves in India and Pakistan to date have not been all that extreme," Thompson explained in a commentary.

By that measure, the worst scorcher on record over the last six decades was in Southeast Asia in 1998.

"An equivalent outlier heatwave in India today would mean temperatures over 50C across large swathes of the country," Thompson said.

"Statistically, a record-breaking heatwave is likely to occur in India at some point."

What makes extreme heat deadly is high temperatures combined with humidity, a steam-bath mix with its own yardstick: wet-bulb temperature (WB).

When the body overheats, the heart ups the tempo and sends blood to the skin where sweating cools it down. But above a threshold of heat-plus-humidity this natural cooling system shuts down.

"Think of it as a sunburn but inside your body," said Mora.

A wet-bulb temperature of 35C WB will kill a healthy young adult within six hours. Last week, the central Indian city of Nagpur briefly registered 32.2 WB.

"The rise in heatwaves, floods, cyclones and droughts that we have seen in this region so far are in response to just one degree Celsius," Roxy Mathew Koll, a climate scientist at Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, told AFP.

"It is difficult for me to even imagine the impacts when the increase in global temperatures are doubled."

© 2022 AFP

 

[daytrader]

Shishper Glacier outburst sweeps away bridge in Hassanabad area of Hunza

Hunza's Hassanabad bridge on the Karakoram Highway was on Saturday destroyed and swept away by a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) from the Shishper Glacier.

The Gilgit-Baltistan tourist police confirmed the development, adding that traffic had been diverted to an alternate route on the Sas Valley Road.

Footage shared on social media showed rampaging floodwaters tearing and sweeping away a section of the bridge.

Hunza Superintendent of Police (SP) Zahoor Ahmed said the glacier had started melting on Saturday due to heat and caused a flood that damaged the bridge and rendered it unusable for traffic.

He said tourists were facing difficulties and had been provided alternate routes through Ganish and Murtazabad. He added that tourist police were also appointed at various spots to prevent any inconvenience for tourists.

The SP said that families near the nullah were shifted to safer places and the entire administration, including the police and rescue services, were on alert due to the emergency situation.

Chief Secretary Gilgit-Baltistan Mohyuddin Ahmad Wani said that the National Highway Authority (NHA) and Frontier Works Organisation assured him that the bridge would be repaired as a matter of urgency.

The chief secretary also directed GB Home Secretary Iqbal Hussain, Gilgit's commissioner and deputy commissioners of the concerned districts to take immediate steps for the restoration of the Hassanabad bridge and resolve the inconvenience caused to the passengers.

According to information from the chief secretary's office, the supply of provisions and fuel to the tourists was also being ensured along with rehabilitation and rations for the affected families.

It added that two power plants of Hassanabad were also swept away by the flood.

A statement issued by the district police said that control rooms were set up in Hunza and Gilgit, which could be contacted on 05813-930721-2 and 05811-930033, respectively.

Ministers direct attention towards global warming, climate change
Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman warned that there were many such vulnerable areas in GB and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. "Pakistan has the highest number of glaciers outside the polar region and many are losing mass due to high global temperatures," she pointed out.

Rehman had earlier cautioned the provincial disaster management authorities and home departments that due to an increase in regional temperatures, there was a possibility of GLOF events and flash floods in GB and KP.

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari also said the melting of glaciers was a "matter of concern". He said collective efforts at the international level were needed to tackle climate change.

"The situation arising out of lake eruption on Shishper Glacier needs to be dealt with on an urgent basis. The government must ensure that local communities are not harmed in any way and land routes remain open.

"Hopefully, the administration will ensure that ordinary people and tourists do not face difficulties," FM Bilawal said.

GB Environmental Protection Agency Director Shahzad Shigri said climate change had accelerated the melting of glaciers in the region and posed a serious threat to the population.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1688466/s...weeps-away-bridge-in-hassanabad-area-of-hunza

 

[daytrader]

PM Shehbaz orders immediate relief measures after glacier outburst flooding in Hunza

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday ordered emergency measures to contain the damage caused by a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) from the Shisper Glacier in Hunza a day ago.

Hunza’s Hassanabad bridge on the Karakoram Highway was swept away on Saturday by flooding which originated from the Shisper glacier. Dramatic footage on social media should a large wave of water sweeping away a chunk of the bridge as onlookers ran for safety.

The outburst of the ice-dammed lake formed by the surging Shisper glacier also submerged houses, hundreds of kanals of agricultural land, trees, water supply channels, and two hydropower projects.

The flooding disconnected road access between central and upper Hunza, leaving thousands of people, including tourists, stranded on both sides.

In a statement issued today, the prime minister ordered authorities to ensure the protection of lives and property of people and their evacuation to safer places.

He also directed relief teams to deliver food, medicines, and emergency supplies to the affected areas.

PM Shehbaz also asked officials to prepare an alternative route due to the collapse of the bridge on the Karakoram Highway.

The premier instructed teams to determine the cost of losses incurred following the destruction of agricultural and drinking water systems as well as two power plants owing to flooding.

"The prime minister ordered the rehabilitation of two power plants — 700 megawatts and 250MW — on a war footing," the statement added.

He also sought a report on the damage caused to Karakoram Highway. "We will take all possible steps for the full relief and rehabilitation of the affected people."

The prime minister issued directions to the federal agencies to provide full support to the Gilgit-Baltistan government.

Meanwhile, Chief Secretary Gilgit-Baltistan Mohyuddin Ahmad Wani spoke with the media on Sunday about the extent of the damage.

He said that the flood water of Shisper Glacier was 8,000 cusecs at the time of lake outburst. "Floodwaters have damaged the bridge, Karakoram water supply and underground cable network."

Iron bridge planned
Meanwhile, there are plans to erect an iron bridge in Hassanabad after the one made with concrete collapsed yesterday.

National Highway Authority General Manager Mehmoob Wali told Dawn.com that the bridge installation will be completed in the next 15 to 20 days to restore immediate connectivity on the Karakoram Highway, "while it will take six to seven months to build an alternative concrete-made bridge".

He said that the repair work on the affected section of the Karakoram Highway would also start tomorrow.

The Shisper glacier started to surge in May 2018, blocking water flow from a stream originating in the nearby Muchuhur glacier, which normally falls into the Hunza River in Hassanabad, thus forming an artificial lake. The water in the dammed lake accumulates in winter and discharges in summer.

Dawn News

 

[silentkiller187]

Since 1960, Karachi’s temperature has increased by 2.4ºC at night and 1.6ºC during the day, which is much higher than the global average increase in temperature, reveals a new alarming report.

The report titled, “Designed to Fail? Heat Governance in Urban South Asia: The Case of Karachi”, studies the city’s changing weather pattern using data from the last 60 years.

While Pakistan is the eighth most vulnerable country in the world to climate change, the report states that its southern province of Sindh is in fact one of South Asia’s “hotspots” for global warming.

“In regions such as South Asia, temperatures have already reached levels that are higher than what is considered biologically livable,” the researchers note.

This year, Pakistan experienced its hottest and driest month of March and April since 1961, as per the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD).

Many cities in the country broke historical records of heat, with the temperature in Sindh’s Jacobabad reaching 49ºC in only April.

Officials have warned of more heatwaves in May in the country, advising people to stay indoors.

Karachi, Pakistan’s most populous city, is located within the zone of “ultraviolent” radiation, the report adds.

The city of 16 million experienced a heatwave in 2015, which left 1,181 people dead, and was considered the fifth deadliest heatwave recorded in global history across South Asia.

“Heat must be understood as a slow onset disaster,” the researchers explain, adding that as per some studies Pakistan’s average temperatures will increase 2.5–2.8°C by the 2050s, and 3.9–4.4°C by the 2080s.

Yet, no serious effort is being made to record the impact of heat in the country, the report notes.

Karachi, it adds, has only three state-operated weather stations, out of which two are at military bases, with restricted data sharing.

Then, the rapid decline in green spaces in the city is also contributing to the rise in temperatures.

“Studies suggest that between 1992 and 1999, there was a 23% decline of green space in Karachi, with a further 18% decline between 1999 and 2009,” the report notes, adding that the clearance of mangroves, coupled with land reclamation for urban development, has made the metropolis vulnerable to flooding and global warming.

“Mangrove forests have an indirect relationship with heat,” the study states, “as mangroves act as storehouses for greenhouse gases.”

The report further adds that official planners insist on a “Dubai aesthetic” for the city, which is not suitable for the climate zone Karachi is in. Most of the tree cover is replaced by date palms, which are water-guzzling, and fast-growing exotic species, such as the Conocarpus that exacerbates asthma and causes respiratory problems.

https://www.geo.tv/latest/415839-karachi-warming-up-faster-than-global-average-warn-experts

 

[MenInG]

KARACHI: Temperature is likely to soar up to 40°C between May 13-14 which would further intensify the ongoing heat spell, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) warned on Tuesday.

“Currently, Karachi is not under the influence of heatwave, however, due to high humidity in the air, the greater intensity of temperature is being felt,” said Chief Meteorologist Sardar Sarfaraz.

Forecasting the increase in temperature in different parts of the country, Sardar Sarfaraz said that the mercury may even hit 50°C in different parts of Sindh. He said that the intensity of heat was recorded higher than normal in the upper, central, and southern Punjab as well as different parts of Baluchistan.

“The heatwave has gripped different parts of the country and may continue till May 15. During this period intensity of heat will be higher than normal,” he added.

Another Met department official said that in Punjab, the mercury may shoot 7-9°C higher than average temperature during the daytime, while in upper and central parts of Sindh, it would rise 6-8°C higher than usual.

“In Khanpur, Raheem Yar Khan and Dera Ismail Khan the temperature may rise above 45°C. However, in Jacobabad, Dadu, Larkana and Sukkur the temperature will most likely remain between 46-48°C,” he said.

 

[daytrader]

Heatwave across country likely to continue next week: Met department

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) on Saturday predicted that the prevailing heatwave in the country was likely to continue over the next week as well.

Slight relief was expected in most parts of the country from May 14 to 17 because of dust storms, gusty winds, and rain, accompanied by thunderstorms, in scattered places, the PMD said in a statement.

However, day temperatures would again rise from May 18, it stated.

The prevailing hot and dry weather could cause stress on water reservoirs, crops, vegetables and orchards, the PMD cautioned, and advised farmers to manage their crops accordingly.

The rise in temperature could also increase energy and water demands, which was why the latter should be used judiciously, the department said.

Minister for Climate Change Sherry Rehman advised citizens to take greater care in order to avoid heatstroke and heat exhaustion.

In a series of tweets, she noted that senior citizens and children were at high risk.

"Predictions for increased base flow in the rivers during the next week may help. Until then, people are advised to avoid unnecessary exposure to direct sunlight and take precautionary measures. Furthermore, water should be used sparingly. Pets and livestock need protection too."

The minister shared a list of symptoms related to heat sickness, including raised body temperature, exhaustion, headaches, nausea, vomiting and poor coordination and called on district administrations to make contingency arrangements.

Meanwhile, the PMD's Early Warning Centre for Heatwave in Karachi had predicted that maximum temperatures in most parts of Sindh, including Dadu, Sukkur, Larkana, Jacobabad, Shikarpur, Khairpur, Qambar Shahdadkot and Nawabshah, would remain between 48 degrees celsius and 50°C today.

Meanwhile, the maximum temperature in Hyderabad, Badin, Mirpurkhas, Umerkot and Tharparkar would range from 44°C to 46°C.

The heatwave would ease slightly between May 14 and 17 with a 3 to 4°C drop in temperatures but would intensify again afterwards.

Swathes of the country have been smothered by high temperatures since late April, in what the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has warned is consistent with climate change.

"This year we have jumped from winter right into summer," said PMD chief forecaster Zaheer Ahmad Babar.

Pakistan has endured heightened heat waves since 2015, he said, focused in upper Sindh province and southern Punjab province.

"The intensity is increasing, and the duration is increasing, and the frequency is increasing," he told AFP.

The Punjab and Sindh governments have already directed departments to stay alert, asking them to take measures to minimise the impact of the hot spell.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1689649

 

[daytrader]

India bans wheat exports as heat wave hurts crop, domestic prices soar

MumbaiIndia banned wheat exports on Saturday — days after saying it was targeting record shipments this year — as a scorching heat wave curtailed output and domestic prices hit a record high.

The government said it would still allow exports backed by already issued letters of credit and to countries that request supplies "to meet their food security needs."

The move to ban overseas shipments was not in perpetuity and could be revised, senior government officials told a press conference.

Global buyers were banking on supplies from the world's second-biggest wheat producer after exports from the Black Sea region plunged following Russia's Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine. Before the ban, India had aimed to ship a record 10 million tonnes this year.

The officials added that there was no dramatic fall in wheat output this year, but unregulated exports had led to a rise in local prices."We don't want wheat trade to happen in an unregulated manner or hoarding to happen," commerce secretary BVR Subrahmanyam told reporters in New Delhi.

Although not one of the world's top wheat exporters, India's ban could drive global prices to new peaks given already tight supply, hitting poor consumers in Asia and Africa particularly hard.

"The ban is shocking," a Mumbai-based dealer with a global trading firm said. "We were expecting curbs on exports after two to three months, but it seems like the inflation numbers changed the government's mind."

Rising food and energy prices pushed India's annual retail inflation near an eight-year high in April, strengthening expectations that the central bank would raise interest rates more aggressively.

Wheat prices in India have risen to record highs, in some spot markets hitting 25,000 rupees ($320) per tonne, well above the government's minimum support price of 20,150 rupees.

Rising fuel, labor, transportation and packaging costs are also boosting the price of wheat flour in India.
"It was not wheat alone. The rise in overall prices raised concerns about inflation and that's why the government had to ban wheat exports," said another senior government official who asked not to be named as discussions about export curbs were private. "For us, it's abundance of caution."

Smaller crop

India this week outlined its record export target for the fiscal year that started on April 1, saying it would send trade delegations to countries such as Morocco, Tunisia, Indonesia and the Philippines to explore ways to boost shipments.

In February, the government forecast production of 111.32 million tonnes, the sixth straight record crop, but it cut the forecast to 105 million tonnes in May.

A spike in temperatures in mid-March means the crop could instead be around 100 million tonnes or even lower, said a New Delhi-based dealer with a global trading firm.

"The government's procurement has fallen more than 50%. Spot markets are getting far lower supplies than last year. All these things are indicating lower crop," the dealer said.

Cashing in on a rally in global wheat prices after Russia invaded Ukraine, India exported a record 7 million tonnes of wheat in the fiscal year to March, up more than 250% from the previous year.

"The rise in wheat price was rather moderate, and Indian prices are still substantially lower than global prices," said Rajesh Paharia Jain, a New Delhi-based trader.

"Wheat prices in some parts of the country had jumped to the current level even last year, so the move to ban export is nothing but a knee-jerk reaction."

Despite a drop in production and government purchases by the state-run Food Corporation of India (FCI), India could have shipped at least 10 million tonnes of wheat this fiscal year, Jain said.

The FCI has so far bought a little over 19 million tonnes of wheat from domestic farmers, against last year's total purchases of a record 43.34 million tonnes. It buys grain from local farmers to run a food welfare program for the poor.

Unlike previous years, farmers have preferred to sell wheat to private traders, who offered better prices than the government's fixed rate.

In April, India exported a record 1.4 million tonnes of wheat and deals were already signed to export around 1.5 million tonnes in May.

"The Indian ban will lift global wheat prices. Right now there is no big supplier in the market," another dealer said.
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/05/14/business/india-wheat-export-banned/index.html

 

[MenInG]

KARACHI: Numerous cases of acute kidney injury (AKI) caused by heatstroke, acute water diarrhoea and gastroenteritis have been reported from all over the country, especially Sindh and Punjab as extremely hot weather scorches these areas, The News reported Sunday.

Officials said mercury shot as high as 51 degrees Celsius in Jacobabad, Sindh on Saturday, while the heat battered other areas in the province.

Unconfirmed reports suggest at least three people died of acute water diarrhoea in a remote area of Sindh, Kaccha, in Dadu as the temperature rose to 49°C. Residents said prolonged drought and unavailability of clean drinking water left no choice for the people except for consuming the comtaminated water from ponds to kill the heat.

Director Gambat Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS) Dr Rahim Bux Bhatti said patients of AKI, acute gastroenteritis and other symptoms of heatstroke due to prolonged exposure to sun are being brought to their heatstroke camp.

"The entire area is in the grip of an intense heatwave for the last few days,” he said while speaking to The News.

Director General Health, Sindh, Dr. Jumman Bahoto, said there were some ‘confirmed’ reports of deaths and sickness due to heat stroke and water borne diseases in some cities and towns of the province, which were experiencing an intense heatwave these days, adding that he had directed all the District Health Officers (DHOs) to collect data as well as establish heat stroke camps in their jurisdiction.

“A rise in the cases of acute watery diarrhea and other water borne illnesses are being reported from Dadu’s remote areas while some cases of heatstroke have also been reported as temperature shot upto 51° in some areas of the province. We have issued directives to the health authorities to establish heatstroke camps, provide clean drinking water and ORS to patients and provide timely medical treatment to them,” DG Health Sindh added.

As daytime temperatures became unbearable in many cities of Punjab, health authorities said many traffic wardens and common people who remained exposed to sunlight in Lahore had acute kidney injury due to dehydration. They were taken to different city health facilities, including Jinnah Hospital Lahore for treatment.

“Dozens of people, especially traffic wardens in Lahore, fainted due to dehydration over long exposure to sunlight in the intense heat and they were shifted to different hospitals. We have decided to distribute umbrellas and awareness pamphlets among people in Lahore to prevent them from permanent disability and death due to heatstroke,” eminent physician and Vice Chancellor of University of Health Sciences (UHS) Lahore Prof. Javed Akram said.

The National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad, also warned of an increase in the cases of heatstroke and water-borne diseases due to extremely high temperatures in different parts of the country, saying heatstroke is a medical emergency and proves fatal if not managed properly.

“A dehydrated person may not be able to sweat fast enough to dissipate heat, which also causes the body temperature to rise. Common signs and symptoms of heatstroke are hot and dry skin or profuse sweating with hot red or flushed dry skin, weakness/lethargy, throbbing headache, elevated body temperature, irritability, dizziness, and decrease urine output, heat rash (red cluster of pimples or small blisters)," an advisory issued by the NIH in the wake of intense heat wave said.

The advisory further warned that heatstroke can cause death or organ damage or disability if not properly managed in time, adding that infants, elderly persons who are above 65 years of age, diabetics, hypertensive, athletes and outdoor workers are at high risk for heatstroke.

On the other hand, Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said temperatures remained 50°C or above in three cities of Sindh including Jacobabad where 51°C was recorded on Saturday while in Nawabshah (Shaheed Benazirabad) 50.5°C was recorded and in Moenjo Daro 50°C was recorded on Saturday.

“Most parts of the country are likely to remain in the grip of heatwave like conditions during the next week. There is, however, slight relief expected in most parts of the country during from the evening or night of May 14 to 17, 2022, that is, mainly due to duststorms/gusty winds, rain-thunderstorm at scattered places in most parts of the country in the afternoon and evening/night. Day temperatures are again likely to rise from 18th May, 2022," an advisory issued by the PMD said.

GEO

 

[Hassaan HS]

Three children die as scorching heatwave bakes Pakistan

A searing heatwave continued to bake most parts of Pakistan as temperatures soared up to 51 degrees Celsius (about 124 degrees Fahrenheit) on Saturday, meteorological officials and local media reported.

The southern Sindh and northeastern Punjab provinces are predominantly bearing the brunt of the scorching heatwave, which, according to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), is likely to persist for at least another week.

Jacobabad recorded 51 degrees Celsius -- the highest ever this year -- followed by Nawabshah, where the mercury touched 50.5 degrees.At least three children died because of the severe heat in the Kaccho region of Sindh on Saturday, local media reported, while temperatures in Larkana were recorded as 50 degrees.

The rise in temperatures has also caused water and energy crises in several cities, apart from posing a threat to crops across the nation.

The meteorological department, in a statement, cautioned that the prevailing hot and dry weather could cause stress on water reservoirs, crops, vegetables, and orchards, advising farmers to manage their crops accordingly.

The South Asian nuclear country, which is among the 10 nations badly affected by climate change, has been facing severe heat since 2015 with lengthening summers and diminishing winters.

Minister for Climate Change Sherry Rehman last week warned that the country could face severe water shortages by 2025 due to climate change.

In a series of tweets, she asked the public, especially elderly people, to stay indoors to avoid the risk of heatstroke and dehydration.

"Prevalent hot and dry weather has already caused water stress on reservoirs crops, vegetables, orchards, and may cause an increase in the demand for energy and water," Rehman said.

"Predictions for increased base flow in the rivers during the next week may help. Until then, people are advised to avoid unnecessary exposure to direct sunlight and take precautionary measures. Furthermore, water should be used sparingly. Pets and livestock need protection too," she added.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2356736/three-children-die-as-scorching-heatwave-bakes-pakistan

 

[daytrader]

Delhi Records 49 Degrees, Residents Asked To Stay In
Two weather stations at Mungeshpur in northwest Delhi and Najafgarh in southwest Delhi reported 49.2 and 49.1 degrees Celsius, respectively.

New Delhi: An intense heatwave scorched parts of north India on Sunday with places in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh recording 49 degrees Celsius and above while the weather office has warned of heavy rainfall across Kerala and sounded a red alert for five districts.
In Delhi, the Safdarjung observatory recorded 45.6 degrees Celsius while two weather stations at Mungeshpur in northwest Delhi and Najafgarh in southwest Delhi reported 49.2 and 49.1 degrees Celsius, respectively.

The temperature at Safdarjung was the highest this season.

Banda district in Uttar Pradesh's Bundelkhand region recorded the maximum day temperature of 49 degrees Celsius, the highest in the state.

As per the India Meteorological Department (IMD) data, this was the highest-ever temperature recorded in Banda in May. The previous maximum temperature in the district was 48.8 deg Celsius on May 31, 1994.

Churu and Pilani in Rajasthan reported maximum temperatures of 47.9 and 47.7 degrees Celsius, respectively, followed by Sri Ganganagar and Jhansi (47.6), Narnaul (47.5), Khajuraho and Nowgong (47.4) and Hissar (47.2), the IMD said.

The weather office said the maximum temperature was markedly above normal (5.1 degrees or more) at several places in Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh, Gilgit-Baltistan, Uttarakhand, Punjab, and Bihar.

The IMD said the maximum temperatures were appreciably above normal (3.1deg C to 5.0 deg C) at many places in West Uttar Pradesh, East Uttar Pradesh, East Madhya Pradesh.

The weather office said under the influence of a western disturbance, dust storm and thunderstorm were expected over northern parts of Punjab and Haryana on Monday, while a mild dust storm was likely over remaining parts of Punjab, Haryana, west Uttar Pradesh and at isolated pockets of Delhi NCR.

While north India braved the high temperatures, most parts of the southern peninsula experienced heavy rainfall with Kerala and Lakshadweep reporting heavy spells of 52.2 mm and 57.7 mm on Sunday, respectively.

The IMD had issued a warning of heavy rainfall across Kerala and sounded a red alert for five districts – Ernakulam, Idukki, Thrissur, Malappuram and Kozhikode.

According to the weather office, Ernakulam had reported 122.2 mm rainfall on Sunday, which was 13 times the normal of 8.3 mm for the day. Kollam reported 113.6 mm rain followed by Thiruvananthapuram (109.1 mm), Alappuzha (97.4 mm), Pattanamita (85.1 mm), Thrissur (81.6 mm) and Kottayam (74.3 mm).

The weather office has forecast early onset of monsoon over Kerala by May 27, which is five days before the normal date of June 1.

"Southwest Monsoon is likely to advance into South Andaman Sea, Nicobar Islands and the adjoining Southeast Bay of Bengal during next 24 hours," the weather office said.
https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/del...stay-indoors-2978982#pfrom=home-ndtv_bigstory

 

[MenInG]

A local cricketer, Umer Khan, passed away in Karachi on Saturday night during a match at the Nazimabad’s Anu Bhai Park.

Umer, who died due to a heart attack, had also led his team to a sensational victory while bowling the last over of the match. He suffered heart attack while celebrating his team’s victory.

Soon after he was shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital but he was pronounced dead upon arrival.

He is survived by a wife and two children.

Samaa

 

[daytrader]

Climate change swells odds of record India, Pakistan heatwaves

limate change makes record-breaking heatwaves in northwest India and Pakistan 100 times more likely, a Met Office study finds.

The region should now expect a heatwave that exceeds the record temperatures seen in 2010 once every three years.

Without climate change, such extreme temperatures would occur only once every 312 years, the Met Office says.

The report comes as forecasters say temperatures in north-west India could reach new highs in the coming days.

The extreme pre-monsoon heatwave the region has suffered in recent weeks eased a little after peak temperatures reached 51C in Pakistan on Saturday.

But the heat looks likely to build again towards the end of this week and into the weekend, the Met Office's Global Guidance Unit warns.

It says maximum temperatures are likely to reach 50C in some spots, with continued very high overnight temperatures.

"Spells of heat have always been a feature of the region's pre-monsoon climate during April and May," says Dr Nikos Christidis, who led the team responsible for today's study.

"However, our study shows that climate change is driving the heat intensity of these spells making record-breaking temperatures 100 times more likely."

The new study is based on the heatwave that gripped northwest India and Pakistan in April and May 2010 when the region experienced the highest combined April and May average temperature since 1900.

It attempts to estimate the extent to which climate change made that and future events more likely.

These "attribution studies" involve running computer simulations comparing how frequently a weather event is likely to occur in two scenarios.

One models the climate as it is today, the other a climate where the human influence on greenhouse gases and other drivers of climate change has been removed.

The scenarios are run through 14 different computer models and produce dozens of different simulations which are compared to work out how climate change has altered the probability of an event happening.

The Met Office used the same method to assess the impact of future climate change and warns that worse is to come.

If climate change follows the Met Office's central predictions, by the end of the century India and Pakistan can expect similarly high temperatures virtually every year, today's study suggests.
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-61484697

 

[silentkiller187]

Muhammad Akbar, 40, sells dried chickpeas on a wheelbarrow in Jacobabad, and has suffered heatstroke three times in his life.

But now, he says, the heat is getting worse. “In those days there were many trees in the whole city and there was no shortage of water and we had other facilities so we could easily beat the heat. But now there are no trees or other facilities including water, due to which the heat is becoming unbearable. I’m scared that this heat will take our lives in the coming years.”

As Pakistan and India sweltered during the recent heatwave, the city of Jacobabad, where Akbar lives, hit a record-breaking 51C. Normally the summer heat starts from the last week of May, but this year, for the first time according to the people here, the heat began in March. Now it will continue till August.

According to the ecologist Nasir Ali Panhwar, author of several books on the environment, the city is particularly badly affected by global heating. This is partly because the city is located in a place where the winter sun comes directly and warms more. Others point out that most of the trees that used to shade the city and the surrounding fields have been cut down and sold, or burned in cooking stoves.

Sardar Sarfaraz, a chief meteorologist of the Pakistan Meteorological Department, told the media that the temperature had already reached 49C in April, a record. He pointed out that Jacobabad “is one of the hottest places in the world” and warned that if the heat began to arrive so early, it was a matter of serious concern.

Akbar says he is worried about the temperature this year. “The heat is increasing every year but the government, including the district administration, is not paying any attention to this serious issue.” Like most of his community, Akbar goes to work early in the morning and works for 12 to 14 hours, earning about 500 rupees (£1.98) a day. He has no choice but to face the heatwave.

Mashooq Ali, the president of the rice mill workers’ union, said that despite the temperatures, “still we have to work because if we do not work, the stove of the house will not work”.

Most workers take two hours off in the afternoon, according to Ali, and then go back to work. “When it gets too hot, we used to sit under the water handpump and use ice water. In the evening when we return home we get extremely tired and want to rest but because of the heat, we do not get enough sleep. Then we go out and sit in an open space so that some air can be felt, but when there is no air, it seems that this heat will take our lives.”

The inhabitants of Jacobabad use hand fans and take frequent baths with cold water from hand pumps. Free cold-water camps have reportedly been set up at four places in the city, and are drawing huge crowds.

Some residents with enough resources move to other parts of the country during these months to escape the heat. According to Huzoor Bakhsh, a journalist who has been reporting in Jacobabad for 20 years, many working-class people move to Quetta in Balochistan, where they work as labourers. He said that because of the deforestation, the intensity of heat had also increased. “Now the people have no way to escape the heatwave and the district administration is inactive in this regard.”

Dr Irshad Ali Sarki, at Jacobabad MS civil hospital, told the Guardian that heatwave wards had been set up to prevent heatstroke, with four or five heatstroke patients admitted and treated daily. Dr Ammad Ullah, another doctor at the hospital, estimates that 50 to 60 people are getting heatstroke every day in this hot season, and said the hospital did not have the capacity to cope. “Some seek treatment from private clinics but the working class do not have the money to get their treatment,” he said.

Citizens complain that, despite the heatwave, the government is not providing drinking water. Donkey carts selling blue plastic cans of water can be seen in large numbers, but there are question marks over the quality of this water.

According to the district administration, the system is complete and water is being supplied through it, but the citizens say the water is polluted and not safe for drinking.

Social activist Mohammad Shaaban is deeply concerned about the rising heat. “We have protested many times for the district administration to take action but no action has been taken yet,” he said. “We fear that in the next few years, Jacobabad will not be able to house humans and animals.”

https://www.theguardian.com/environ...abad-after-hitting-51c?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

 

[ex-q-zit]

Delhi Records Highest Maximum Temperature For November Since 2008

New Delhi: Delhi on Monday recorded its maximum temperature at 33 degrees Celsius, the highest since 2008 for the month of November, meteorological data showed.

The national capital recorded 33.5 degrees Celsius in this month, 13 years ago.

While the maximum temperature was recorded four notches above the season's average, the minimum temperature at 17 degrees Celsius stood three notches above the season's average.

The Palm observatory recorded a high of 32.2 degrees Celsius.

The Najafgarh observatory recorded a maximum temperature of 34.3 degrees Celsius, while Pitampura and Sports Complex recorded temperatures of 34.6 degrees Celsius and 34.5 degrees Celsius on Monday respectively.

The humidity levels oscillated between 38 per cent and 96 per cent, IMD said.

Meanwhile, the air quality in the national capital was recorded in the 'very poor' category at 352 in the morning, according to the Central Pollution Control Board data.

The weatherperson has forecast a partly cloudy sky for the day with the possibility of mist or shallow fog in the morning for Tuesday.

The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to hover around 32 and 17 degrees Celsius.

NDTV

 

[ex-q-zit]

India Could Soon Experience Heat Waves Beyond Human Survival Limit: World Bank

Severe heat waves, responsible for thousands of deaths across India over the last few decades, are increasing with alarming frequency and soon the country could become one of the first places in the world to experience heat waves that break the human survivability limit, according to a new report.
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The World Bank report titled "Climate Investment Opportunities in India's Cooling Sector" said the country is experiencing higher temperatures that arrive earlier and stay far longer.

"In April 2022, India was plunged into the grip of a punishing early spring heat wave that brought the country to a standstill, with temperatures in the capital, New Delhi, topping 46 degrees Celsius (oC) (114 degrees Fahrenheit). The month of March, which witnessed extraordinary spikes in temperatures, was the hottest ever recorded", it said.

The report will be released during the two-day "India Climate and Development Partners' Meet" being organised by World Bank in partnership with the Kerala government.

Predicting that heat waves situation in India could break the human survivability limit, it said the recent heat wave supports what many climate scientists have long cautioned about with reference to rising temperatures across South Asia.

"In August 2021, the Sixth Assessment Report of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned that the Indian subcontinent would suffer more frequent and intense heat waves over the coming decade.

"The G20 Climate Risk Atlas also warned in 2021 that heat waves across India were likely to last 25 times longer by 2036-65 if carbon emissions remain high, as in the IPCC's worst-case emission scenario," the report said.

It also warned that rising heat across India can jeopardize economic productivity.

"Up to 75 percent of India's workforce, or 380 million people, depend on heat-exposed labor, at times working in potentially life-threatening temperatures. ...By 2030, India may account for 34 million of the projected 80 million global job losses from heat stress associated productivity decline", the report said.

It further said India showed the largest heat exposure impacts on heavy labor among South Asian countries, with more than 101 billion hours lost a year.

Analysis by global management consulting firm, McKinsey & Company shows that lost labor from rising heat and humidity could put up to 4.5 per cent of India's GDP- approximately USD 150-250 billion - at risk by the end of this decade.

It said India's long-term food security and public health security will depend on a reliable cold chain network.

Transporting food and pharmaceutical goods across India requires a system of cold chain refrigeration that works every step of the way.

"A single temperature lapse in the journey can break the cold chain, spoiling fresh produce and weakening the potency of vaccines. With only 4 per cent of fresh produce in India covered by cold chain facilities, annual estimated food losses total USD 13 billion", it said.

It also noted that the third largest producer of pharmaceuticals in the world, pre-COVID-19, India lost approximately 20 percent of temperature-sensitive medical products and 25 percent of vaccines due to broken cold chains, leading to losses of USD 313 million a year.

"As temperatures rise across India, so will the demand for cooling. However, in a country where two-thirds of the population live on less than USD 2 a day, and where the average cost of an air-conditioning unit can vary between USD 260 and USD 500, air-cooling systems are a luxury available only to a few." According to analysis presented in the India Cooling Action Plan (ICAP), only eight per cent of Indian households own air-conditioning units.

"Indoor and electric fans can help to maintain thermal comfort, but these too are expensive to buy and inefficient. As a result, many poor and marginalized communities across India are more vulnerable to extreme heat, living in inadequately ventilated, hot and crowded homes without proper access to cooling", the report warned.

Staying cool during extreme heat is about more than just comfort - it can constitute the precarious line between life and death, it added.

NDTV

 

[WicketLord]

India saw the hottest and driest August this year ever since records began over a century ago, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said, news agency AFP reported. Climate change is believed to be the driving force behind this occurrence. Over the past few months, extreme weather events have intensified due to climate change. In August, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said that July 2023 was the warmest month in over 1,20,000 years.

India Witnessed The Hottest And Driest August This Year Since 1901, Weak Monsoon Is The Reason

Climate change is believed to be the driving force behind August 2023 being the hottest and driest August for India since 1901.

news.abplive.com

 

[jeetu]

In Delhi , this was the most pleasant summer i witnessed in past decades (by Delhi standards). There were very few days where temperature was over 44 C. Most of the time it was 40C and under due to unexpected abundance of rain. After 3 weeks nights would be longer than days. So i don't expect temperature to rise now despite no rain for next few months.

 

[Hitman]

In Delhi , this was the most pleasant summer i witnessed in past decades (by Delhi standards). There were very few days where temperature was over 44 C. Most of the time it was 40C and under due to unexpected abundance of rain. After 3 weeks nights would be longer than days. So i don't expect temperature to rise now despite no rain for next few months.

Things come to a standstill in my state when temperature soars to 38 C, which is very rare and for a few days in a year. Can’t even imagine what 44 C would feel like.

 

[WicketLord]

India and Pakististan both govt should take some action against environmental issues as heat wave will increase in future due to climate change.

 

[jeetu]

Things come to a standstill in my state when temperature soars to 38 C, which is very rare and for a few days in a year. Can’t even imagine what 44 C would feel like.

I am just use to it. Atleast in last few years power cuts are negligible. Real pain was living under severe load shedding which were a norm pre-2010. 44 C without a fan was true hell. On the other hand I would struggle living in places with freezing point temperature.