No respite in sight from heatwave
An Edhi volunteer provides an elderly passerby relief from the heat near Merewether Tower (left), while a traffic policeman uses an umbrella to shade himself from the blazing sun (right). PHOTO: JALAL QURESHI/EXPRESS
Sindh, including its metropolitan cities of Karachi and Hyderabad, have been in the grip of a heat wave exasperated by high humidity levels in the air and cessation of the sea breeze.
As per the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), the intensity of heat felt higher than the actual temperature on Sunday as humidity in the air shot up to 65% in Karachi where the maximum temperature was recorded at 36.1 degrees Celsius.
Shaheed Benazirabad was the hottest district in Sindh on Sunday where mercury touched 47.4 degrees Celsius.
According to the forecast of PMD's Early Warning Centre, Karachi's weather is expected to remain hot and humid over the next three days, while the maximum temperature is expected to stay between 34 and 36 degrees.
Heatwave-like conditions may persist in most districts of Sindh and mercury may rise up to 47 degrees Celsius in Dadu, Jacobabad, Larkana, Sukkur, Nawabshah and Khairpur. Light rain with dust- and thunder- storm is expected in parts of Shahdadkot, Larkana, Sukkur and Dadu on Monday.
Meanwhile, hot and dusty winds kept residents of Hyderabad confined to their homes amid a persisting heat wave on Sunday. Prolonged and unannounced load-shedding piled up further misery on people.
According to details, there was no reduction in the intensity of heat in Hyderabad and its surroundings. As soon as the sun rose, the heat began to grow in strength, but around midday hot and dusty winds started blowing, due to which unusual silence was seen in the city's streets and markets.
In order to carry out their routine tasks, people kept coming out of their homes by covering their faces with handkerchiefs to protect themselves from the sun and hot winds, while motorcyclists wore gloves, glasses and caps.
People increasingly drank cold beverages to beat the heat, which resulted in rush at cold drink stalls across the city. Similarly, a steady increase in the demand for curd and ice is also being recorded.
According to the PMD, a drop in temperature by one degree Celsius has been recorded due to hot and dusty winds. On Friday, the highest temperature was recorded at 44 degrees Celsius, which was maintained at 45 degrees for the last two days. Wind speed of 14 to 16 km per hour was recorded across the city and dusty winds will continue to blow in the afternoon with the weather remaining hot and dry for the next few days.
On the other hand, load-shedding under HESCO also continued. Along with the prolonged and unannounced load-shedding in the urban and rural areas, power outages continued throughout the day, which increased the problems of citizens and the daily life was badly affected.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 15th, 2023.