Pakistan is melting in intense heat

While cyclone-heavy rains are raging at one end of the subcontinent, Pakistan is literally melting in a terrible heat wave.

In the southern Sindh province of the country, the temperature exceeded 52 degrees Celsius. This is the highest temperature recorded in the country this summer.

Recently, the temperature in Mohenjo-Daro, a historic city in Pakistan’s Sindh province, reached 52.2 degrees Celsius, according to the Meteorological Department.

On that day, the temperature in Mohenjo-Daro was the highest of the season, according to Sardar Sarfraz, the head of Pakistan Meteorological Department.

Meteorologist Sardar Sarfaraz said that earlier in 2017, the highest temperature was recorded in Turbat city of Baluchistan province of 54 degrees Celsius. It was the second-highest temperature in Asia and the fourth highest in the world.

Sardar Sarfraz also said that the temperature of Mohenjo Daro may decrease within a day or two. However, temperatures may rise in Karachi and other parts of Sindh province.

Mohenjo-Daro is a small town. The city experiences scorching heat in summer. However, the temperature in this season surpassed the previous year’s records. Most of the shops in the city are seen closed due to the intense heat wave.

Rubina Khurshid Alam, the Climate Affairs Coordinator for the Prime Minister of Pakistan, said that Pakistan is the fifth most vulnerable country to the effects of climate change. “Recently we have seen more than normal rains and floods in Pakistan. Now I see an unusual heat wave,” she told the media.”

Rubina Khurshid Alam further said, “Pakistan ranks fifth among countries impacted by weather disasters caused by climate change and warming”.

Environmentalists say extreme temperatures have prevailed across Asia since last month due to human-made climate change.

According to Dr. Mushtaq Ahmed, a nearby doctor in Mohenjo-Daro, people only go outside when it’s absolutely necessary due to the extreme heat.