KARACHI: The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) announced on Thursday that a heatwave is expected to affect the provinces of Sindh and Punjab in May and June, advising residents in high-risk areas to take necessary precautions.
The NDMA’s statement highlighted that Umerkot, Tharparkar, Tando Allayar, Matiari, and Sanghar in Sindh, along with Bahawalpur and Rahim Yar Khan in Punjab, are particularly vulnerable. Temperatures in these regions could reach 40 degrees Celsius between May 15-30 and rise to 45 degrees Celsius in June.
Pakistan, one of the top ten nations most susceptible to climate change, has been experiencing extreme heat, untimely rains, flash floods, and droughts. The impacts of climate change, such as increased heat exposure and more frequent heatwaves, pose significant risks to human health, including heat-related illnesses and the exacerbation of chronic conditions like cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.
From 1999 to 2018, climate change has caused nearly 10,000 deaths and $3.8 billion in economic losses in Pakistan, according to the Global Climate Risk Index. A severe heatwave in Karachi in 2015 resulted in 120 fatalities. In 2022, unprecedented monsoon floods killed around 1,700 people and impacted over 33 million, causing extensive damage to homes, schools, roads, and railways, much of which remains unrepaired.
