Karachi sees a surge in deaths as heatwave sears Pakistan

KARACHI – Karachi is witnessing an unusual spike in the number of deaths, a relief agency said, with the baking conditions set to persist in Pakistan’s commercial capital.

Rescue agency Edhi Foundation reported receiving 568 bodies in the city in the five days through June 25, up from an average of about 40 per day.

The local government said the casualties weren’t due to heat and that just 13 people had died of weather-related issues in Karachi in June.

The nation, which saw near-record temperatures in May, is not alone in getting battered by extreme weather conditions, exacerbated by climate change.

The Earth posted an 11th consecutive month of record-breaking heat in April, with warmer conditions prevailing in several Asian countries, including India, and there are concerns of a scorching summer in Europe.

“Most of the corpses were brought from areas housing poor workers, hit by heatstroke amid prolonged power outages in the city,” the foundation’s trustee, Mr Faisal Edhi, said by phone, citing family members who came to its morgues.

It operates Pakistan’s biggest ambulance service through 500 centres.

Tracking fatalities because of intense weather can be challenging as deaths may have multiple causes. 

The above-average temperatures did cause more than 2,100 heatstrokes in June across Sindh, said Mr Ali Nawaz Channa, spokesman of the province’s health department.

However, he rejected Mr Edhi’s claim and said they wrongly attributed those incremental deaths to hotter weather conditions.

The mercury soared to 44 deg C in the city on June 24, more than 7 deg C above normal, the Pakistan Meteorological Department said, adding the next three days will continue to be very hot.

Chief Meteorologist Sardar Sarfaraz said that 2024 was the worst since June 2015, when about 1,300 people had died in one week.

The provincial government has advised people to wear light-coloured clothes and drink plenty of water.

Multiple kiosks have sprung up across the city, offering commuters a glass of water.

Hospitals have been asked to establish special wards to manage patients and deploy ambulances at public places, equipped with glucose drinks.

Karachi’s state-owned Dr Ruth K.M. Pfau Civil Hospital reported 12 heatstroke-related deaths in past three days, spokesman Nizam Shaikh said.

The Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre’s spokesman Irfan Siddiqui said it had admitted 40 such patients since June 25.

Dry conditions are also affecting crops such as cotton, sugar cane, mangoes, potatoes and some lentils. BLOOMBERG