Pakistan Heat Wave Eases, but Death Toll Rises
Hundreds remain under treatment for heat-related symptoms in southern region
ENLARGE A man tried to cool off in a roadside puddle in Karachi, Pakistan, on Thursday, as the death toll from a devastating heat wave continued to climb. Photo: European Pressphoto Agency
By
Updated June 25, 2015 2:22 p.m. ET Qasim Nauman
ISLAMABAD—Temperatures eased in southern Pakistan, but hundreds of people are still being treated for symptoms related to a devastating heat wave that has claimed the lives of more than 1,000 people in the region, local government officials and relief workers said.
The heat wave coincided with the beginning of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, during which Muslims fast from dawn to dusk and avoid all food and drink. Religious clerics issued statements this week asking people to avoid fasting if it puts their lives at risk. Health officials said, however, that they didn't have a figure for how many of the heat wave's victims were fasting.
Pakistan Meteorological Department officials said the heat wave ended Wednesday night, as the temperature dropped to 99 degrees Fahrenheit, after seven days in triple digits.
Temperatures in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city and economic hub, spiked late last week, reaching a high of 113 degrees Fahrenheit (45 degrees Celsius) on Sunday. Health officials in southern Sindh province said most of the deaths were reported from Karachi, the sprawling port city that is the country's economic hub.
Officials reported dozens of other deaths from around Sindh province. Many of the dead were elderly citizens and laborers, the officials said, without providing a precise figure. Hospital officials said a majority of those affected by the heat wave had suffered from heat stroke.
The city's hospitals have handled more than 10,000 patients with heat-related symptoms since Sunday. The Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, one of Karachi's main hospitals, treated more than 8,000, said Seemin Jamali, a hospital spokeswoman.
Heat Wave Hits Pakistan
A deadly heat wave swept through southern Pakistan in recent days, claiming more than 800 lives so far. The government has called for emergency measures as temperatures in Karachi reach as high as 113 degrees Fahrenheit.
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fullscreen Pakistanis cool off in a canal during a heat wave in Lahore on Monday. Sajjad/Xinhua/Zuma Press…
A woman wets her burqa to cool her father's head outside the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center in Karachi on Wednesday ...
A man covers his head with a wet towel to avoid heatstroke in Karachi on Wednesday. A cool wind from the sea and pre-monsoon rains brought the first signs of respite to southern Pakistan on Wednesday. Shakil Adil/Associated Press…
A Pakistani resident helps a heatstroke victim at a market area during a heat wave in Karachi on Wednesday. Rizwan Tabassum/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images…
A man with his daughter who suffers from dehydration due to extreme weather waits for medical help outside a ward at a child hospital in Karachi on Wednesday. Shakil Adil/Associated Press…
A Pakistani patient suffering from heatstroke receives treatment at a local hospital in Karachi on Wednesday. Shakil Adil/Associated Press…
People shift bodies of heat-wave victims to a mortuary in Karachi on Wednesday. Shahzaib Akber/European Pressphoto Agency…
A Tiger embraces a large lump of ice at the Karachi Zoo in Pakistan on Wednesday, as caretakers work to keep animals cool during a heat wave in the country's south. Shahzaib Akber/European Pressphoto Agency…
Men cool off at a stream in Islamabad on Tuesday. Faisal Mahmood/Reuters…
A vendor sells blocks of ice along a road during a heat wave in Karachi on Wednesday. Akhtar Soomro/Reuters…
A volunteer pours drinking water for people at a stall set up outside Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center in Karachi on Tuesday. Akhtar Soomro/Reuters…
Pakistanis cool off in a canal during a heat wave in Lahore on Monday. Sajjad/Xinhua/Zuma Press…
A woman wets her burqa to cool her father's head outside the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center in Karachi on Wednesday. The government has declared a holiday in Pakistan's financial capital to encourage people to stay indoors, as a five-day heat wave kills more than 800 people in the city. Akhtar Soomro/Reuters…
Footage aired on local television channels showed hospital corridors crowded with patients, many being carried by loved ones. Many were seen lying on gurneys, with attendants pouring water on their heads.
The rising temperatures also led to a spike in electricity demand, crippling the power infrastructure and leading to prolonged blackouts in many parts of the city. The outages sparked small protests by angry citizens in some parts of the city. Karachi's privately owned power utility, K-Electric,KEL-2.58% said its systems were overloaded because of the spike in demand, as well as the increased load from illegal power connections.
The Pakistani military and the country's National Disaster Management Authority set up emergency medical centers across Karachi, providing treatment, rehydration tablets and water to people with heat-related symptoms.
"Our mortuary has been overwhelmed," said Anwer Kazmi, a spokesman for the Edhi Foundation, a charity that runs Karachi's main morgue. "We have had to bury dozens of unclaimed, unidentified bodies of people who died because of the heat."
Mr. Kazmi said 688 bodies were brought to the foundation's morgue since Sunday, hundreds beyond its capacity. "There is no official figure yet, but based on the reports we have received from other areas, [the death toll] has crossed 1,000."
Saeed Mangnejo, the provincial health secretary, said the official toll in Sindh province from the heat wave as of Thursday afternoon was 822.
"It is possible [that it has crossed] 1,000," Mr. Mangnejo said. "This is a consolidated figure from the hospitals, but others could have died at home or not gone through our system."
The provincial government as well as the government of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif have faced strong criticism from opponents and in the media over the response to the crisis.
The Pakistan Peoples Party, the ruling party in Sindh, has blamed the federal government for failing to handle the power crisis. The federal government said the Sindh government and K-Electric were responsible.
"Such a sustained heat wave—for eight to nine days—hasn't been seen for 15 years," said Sardar Sarfaraz, a director at the meteorological department's regional headquarters in Karachi.
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پاکستان کسی بھی پاکستانی کے لئے اللہ کی سب سے بڑی نعمتوں میں سے ایک ہے. آج ہم جو بھی ہے یہ سب اس وجہ پاکستان کی ہے ، دوسری صورت میں ، ہم کچھ بھی نہیں ہوتا. براہ مہربانی پاکستان کے لئے مخلص ہو.
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