By Staff Reporter
KARACHI: The thermometer read 37 degrees Celsius when afternoon arrived Wednesday in this coastal megacity of some 20 million people, but for anyone stepping outside, that number told only part of the story.
With relative humidity at 56 percent and southwest winds pushing in off the Arabian Sea at 26 kilometers per hour, the feels-like temperature had climbed to 49 degrees — a wall of heat so thick it rendered much of the city effectively uninhabitable during the midday hours. A day earlier, the apparent temperature had reached 48 degrees, a threshold that public health specialists associate with serious risk of heat exhaustion and heatstroke, particularly among the elderly, the very young and those who work outdoors.
Pakistan is once again caught between extremes.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department, which issued a formal heatwave warning for multiple regions of the country last week, said conditions gripping Karachi and broad stretches of the country were being driven by a high-pressure system capable of pushing temperatures seven degrees Celsius above seasonal norms. It forecast that maximum temperatures in Karachi would hold between 40 and 43 degrees through Thursday, with overnight lows also expected to rise — offering little of the relief that evenings typically provide.
The meteorological agency advised children, women and senior citizens to exercise heightened caution, and urged residents to avoid direct sunlight during the peak hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It also recommended staying adequately hydrated — guidance that, in a city where water infrastructure is chronically strained and power outages remain common, can be difficult to follow for millions of lower-income residents with limited access to fans or air conditioning.
Yet the heat, dire as it is, may not be Pakistan’s most pressing meteorological concern for long.
The same agency warned Wednesday that a western disturbance is expected to push into the country’s upper regions beginning Thursday and persist through Saturday, bringing with it a sharply different set of hazards. Moist currents from the Arabian Sea are forecast to penetrate upper and central Pakistan during the same window — a combination the department said would produce intermittent dust storms, strong gusty winds, heavy thundershowers and, in places, hailstorms.
The geographic sweep of the warning is striking. In Punjab, the department forecast scattered dust storms, rain and thunderstorms — with the possibility of isolated heavy downpours and hail — across dozens of districts stretching from Islamabad and Rawalpindi in the north to Bahawalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Multan and Rahim Yar Khan in the south. Major urban centers including Lahore, Faisalabad, Gujranwala and Sialkot were all named in the alert.
Across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, similar conditions are expected in more than two dozen districts — from Chitral and Dir in the north to Bannu, Kohat, Dera Ismail Khan and the tribal districts of Waziristan and Khyber in the south. Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan are also expected to see scattered rain and thunderstorm activity, with isolated heavy falls and hail possible in Neelum Valley, Muzaffarabad, Rawalakot, Skardu, Hunza and surrounding areas. In northeastern Balochistan — including Zhob, Ziarat and Dera Bugti — rain, thunderstorms and dust storms are in the forecast. Even parts of upper Sindh, baking under current heatwave conditions, are expected to see dust storms and high winds.
The human and material consequences of such systems in Pakistan can be severe. The meteorological department specifically warned that powerful winds and hailstorms could damage solar panels, electricity poles and billboards — infrastructure that is often poorly anchored in rapidly expanding peri-urban areas. Heavy rainfall, the agency cautioned, may trigger urban flooding in the low-lying neighborhoods of Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Gujranwala, Sialkot and Faisalabad. In the mountainous terrain of Gilgit-Baltistan, Kashmir and upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, landslides remain a serious concern.
Emergency authorities moved quickly to position resources ahead of the system. The Punjab Provincial Disaster Management Authority issued an advisory directing all district administrations and line departments to ensure round-the-clock staffing at District Emergency Operations Centres and to coordinate with relevant agencies for a unified response. Authorities have also been directed to deploy additional staff and equipment to high-risk areas and to disseminate safety and evacuation information through electronic and social media.
Rescue 1122, Punjab’s emergency service, has been directed to pre-position search and rescue teams and equipment. The Motorway Police were instructed to issue regular traffic advisories and timely updates on road conditions. The disaster authority separately requested regular situation reports covering major developments, along with data collection for post-event analysis.
Farmers were advised to take precautionary measures for their crops ahead of the incoming system, and tourists and travelers were urged to avoid unnecessary journeys during the forecast period, given the potential for rapidly deteriorating conditions.
“All concerned authorities are advised to remain vigilant and take necessary measures to avoid any untoward situation during the forecast period,” the meteorological department said.
The convergence of a prolonged heat emergency with an imminent severe storm system reflects a pattern that has become increasingly familiar in Pakistan. The country has in recent years grown acutely vulnerable to extreme weather events at both ends of the spectrum — heat emergencies that strain public health systems and electricity grids, followed by intense rainfall and flooding capable of displacing millions. The 2022 monsoon floods inundated roughly a third of the country, killing more than 1,700 people and causing damage estimated at over $30 billion. Climate scientists have repeatedly warned that the frequency and intensity of such events are likely to increase as global temperatures continue to rise.
Copyright © 2021 Independent Pakistan | All rights reserved
