Hundreds of citizens suffering from heatstroke have been admitted to hospitals in Lahore, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Rawalpindi, Narowal and South Punjab during the past here days.
Hospital officials said they were facing an increase in the number of heatstroke patients in both the outpatient departments and emergency wards because of the prevailing harsh weather.
Health experts advised the public to stay home during mid-day and use maximum water to avoid heatstroke.
A worst phase of increasing temperature is being experienced in the region during the ongoing summer season.
Pakistan is considered the fifth worst climate change hit country and many cities including the major urban centres of Punjab are in the grip of extremely hot weather.
As a result, hospitals in the populous districts are struggling to treat an increasing number of patients afflicted by heatstroke.
The authorities had already issued an alert regarding the health risks posed by the extremely hot weather set to continue in the province.
The situation is becoming crucial in the big cities of Punjab, including Lahore, where government and private hospitals, as well as clinics are receiving patients of heatstroke daily.
It has been observed besides senior citizens and school going children, a large number of the patients that those who travel in local public transport and on motorbikes for work.
Hospitals across the province had been alerted for the adverse affects of the hot weather by the Punjab health authorities following instructions in this regard from the Provincial Disaster Management Authority.
In recent years, a huge number of cases of heatstroke had been recorded in the hospitals in South Punjab, so the government has focused on preparations for the season in the region.
The Allama Iqbal Teaching Hospital in Dera Ghazi Khan has been declared a Provincial Stroke Management Centre.
According to a spokesperson for the Punjab Health Department, the Services Institute of Medical Sciences Nephrology Department Head, Professor Qasim Bashir, visited the centre. Three bundles of the required injections have been dispatched to the Stroke Management Centre.
The spokesman, Sayed Hamad Raza, said, "All teaching hospitals have made the best arrangements to deal with heatstroke patients and training of the relevant healthcare staff was completed to equip them with the necessary treatment facilities."
He said sufficient quantity of medicines had been sent to all hospitals to treat heatstroke patients.
A former medical superintendent of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Dr Maqsood Ahmad Sheikh, "The temperature of the brain increase due to heatstroke and there is risk of damage to brain. The senior citizens and children are at a higher risk of heatstroke."
He said the people should avoid going outdoors and consume maximum water and minerals during the ongoing season.
Meanwhile, the Meteorological Department predicted that the provincial capital, along with most of the plains across the country, would continue to experience an intense heatwave over the next two to three days.
Daytime temperatures in the central and upper Punjab are expected to remain 5°C to 7°C above normal. South Punjab may see temperatures 4°C to 6°C above the seasonal average.
With additional input from APP
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