A severe heatwave has killed more than 60 people in Pakistan's southern city Karachi with more deaths expected as high temperatures continue, a charity says.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
There were no cooling winds from the Arabian Sea as the temperature surged to 44 degrees Celsius on Monday, according to the Edhi Foundation's Faisal Edhi, and the local metrological authority said the heatwave might continue until Thursday.
Authorities declared emergency statuses at Karachi's hospitals and clinics because of heat-related incidents. The city experienced about 2000 deaths due to similar conditions in 2015, health official Nasir Durrani told dpa.
Most of the recent deaths were of those fasting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan when eating or drinking between dawn and dusk is prohibited, Edhi said.
Power outages in the city of more than 20 million people made the situation worse, according to resident Zaheer Uddin Babar.
Late last month, the temperature in a town near Karachi rose above 50 degrees Celsius, the highest ever recorded on earth for the month of April.
Pakistan, sandwiched between the highly industrialised nations of China and India, faces some of the worst fallout from climate change.
Australian Associated Press
