Karachi grapples with heatwave, bad air

As temperature rises to 41.1 degrees Celsius, Karachi records AQI of over 150

KARACHI:

As a heatwave continued to grip Karachi for the second consecutive day on Saturday, the metropolis’ air quality deteriorated and the city was ranked among the world’s most polluted cities on the United States Air Quality Index (AQI)

In the morning, Karachi recorded an AQI of 166, which is typically deemed unhealthy. The air quality turned worse by the afternoon, as the city recorded a reading of 176 on the air quality index. By 8pm, the city’s air quality had improved slightly but remained unhealthy as it recorded an AQI of 152. Global scales typically rank good air quality between a 0-50 AQI. An AQI over a 100 is termed dangerous for the more vulnerable groups while an AQI past 150 is typically deemed unhealthy and an AQI above 300 is dubbed hazardous.

Read: PMD forecasts three days of higher temperature in Karachi

Heatwave

Meanwhile, weather remained hot throughout the day, with the temperature rising to 41.1 degrees Celsius, and dusty winds from the Northeast continued to blow at 30 kilometres per hour. Southwestern winds from the sea, though, remained suspended during the day.

Visibility in the port city was also reduced to one kilometre due to dusty winds.

Later as evening approached, see breeze was restored and the temperature dropped to 27.5 degrees Celsius.

The Pakistan Meteorological Department had predicted a three-day heatwave in the city, with the hot spell lasting until Sunday. However, according to a new forecast, the spell is now expected to continue till Monday.

Today (Sunday), the temperature is expected to rise to 40 degrees Celsius.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 25^th, 2021.