Ministry of Climate Change issues heatwave alert to all provinces

Senator Rehman warns of extreme heatwave, temperatures in border areas expected to rise to 49-50 degrees Celsius

ISLAMABAD:

The Ministry of Climate Change on Thursday issued a formal heatwave alert to all provinces as temperatures in Pakistan are expected to rise by six to eight degrees Celsius above average this year.

Minister for Climate Change Senator Sherry Rehman announced that South Asia will be facing a severe heatwave this year, adding that premature heatwaves are a sign of climate change and global warming.

“Pakistan has been facing an unexpected heatwave since March. Temperatures in the border areas of Pakistan and India are expected to rise to 49 to 50 degrees Celsius,” the minister said.

Rehman cited the Pakistan Meteorological Department’s (PMD) announcement that March 2022 was the hottest month since 1961.

“In March alone, rainfall was recorded at 62% less than normal. In the year 2018, Nawabshah became the hottest city in the world in the month of April when the mercury went above 50 degrees Celsius,” she stated.

The minister added that the intense heat posed a severe threat to human health and agricultural output.

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The senator said that international organisations had earlier in the year warned of premature, severe and prolonged heatwaves in Pakistan, criticising the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government for not taking precautionary measures to deal with the situation.

Citizens have been urged to take precautionary measures to avoid the heat.

On Tuesday, PMD announced that a new heatwave is expected to hit the cities and villages across the country this week, with daytime temperatures expected to be six to eight degrees Celsius above normal.

Due to prolonged drought and increase in the intensity of heat; aquifers, standing crops, vegetables and orchards are at risk of water shortage.

According to the meteorological department, daytime temperatures are likely to rise gradually in most parts of the country in the coming days due to high wind pressure.

PMD has directed the farmers to take appropriate measures to irrigate the crops according to weather conditions and authorities concerned to protect the people from the heatwave.