Temperatures rise to a record 42˚C in Karachi

Power outages cause citizens to take to the streets in anger

KARACHI: One of the hottest days in May was recorded on Saturday when temperatures in the port city rose to 42˚ Celsius. This spell of hot weather is likely to continue for the next few days due to the suspension of sea breeze.

Due to the absence of south-western winds at sea, the hot and humid winds of the north-west prevailed throughout the day. However, the lower humidity level – levels only reached 13% - prevented a heatwave-like situation from hitting the city.

Unfortunately, the temperature experienced and actual temperature varied - when the city's temperature was 42˚C, it felt like 45˚C. On Saturday, after a nine-hour hiatus, sea breeze began to blow again at a speed of 25 kilometres per hour.

According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department, reduced air pressure in Sindh’s highlands could mean that the current hot spell will continue for the next few days.



As part of its continued torture of the residents of Karachi, K-Electric (K-E) decided a heatwave would be the perfect time to implement increased load-shedding in the city. Areas such as Lyari, Malir, Defence, North Nazimabad and Nazimabad were without electricity all night. Many residents took to the streets, to protest. Many areas also experienced water shortages.

Frustrated protesters started to set tyres on fire, blocked roads and chanted slogans against the authorities. On Friday night, people took to the streets in Chakiwara's Bahadur Colony in Lyari, near the water pumping station and protested against prolonged load-shedding and lack of water supply. Local residents said the water pumping station was not supplying water to them while the Lyari police is protecting the water mafia.

The Chakiwara police beat up the protestors and prevented journalists from reporting on the matter by snatching their mobile phones. But later, on City SSP Shiraz Nazir's orders, the police returned the mobile phones.

Residents of Malir’s Shamsi Society protested against the power outage by burning tyres and blocking roads. The protesters said they had no electricity for the last four days but K-E is not bothered. The same situation was witnessed in Nazimabad where protesters took to the streets against the lack of water supply and blocked roads, causing a massive traffic jam. The protesters said that water supply has been suspended for the last 20 days in areas such as Gulbahar, Rizvia, Usmania Colony and Waheedabad. Having contacted the authorities on several occasions, their cries fell on deaf ears, hence they resorted to protests.



The residents said they will continue their protests until they are given concrete assurances about resumption in water supply. A large contingent of police and Rangers reached the scene and began negotiations with the protesters who agreed to temporarily call off their protest.

Dozens of suspected heatstroke cases were brought to the Sindh Government Qatar Hospital, Sindh Government Children’s Hospital, Sindh Government New Karachi and Liaquatabad Hospital, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre and Civil Hospital, Karachi and even the National Institute of Child Health on Saturday. According to doctors, residents of the city should avoid going out in the sun unnecessarily and in case of dizziness or headaches, they should wet their heads. They urged parents to keep their children indoors during the day.

Doctors said that the hot weather can affect our bodies in different ways but the most serious illness caused by the heat is a heatstroke. When suffering from a heatstroke, a patient’s body temperature rises and it affects the nervous system. Health experts advise that residents stay indoors between 1pm and 4pm and say that people who are fasting should consume as much water as they can between iftar and sehri.