Pak heat waves kill132 in Karachi

At least 141 people, including 132 alone in capital Karachi, have died due to an intense ongoing heatwave sweeping across many parts of Pakistan's southern Sindh province.

Nine deaths were reported from Thatta and Tharparkar in the interior of the Sindh province, health officials said.

“Five people died from dehydration and heat stroke in Thatta and four in Tharparkar yesterday,” a Sindh health ministry official told PTI.

The total number of deaths in Sindh province has climbed to around 141 since the heatwave started on Friday.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah told reporters in Karachi on Sunday that emergency had been declared in all the government hospitals of Karachi and other cities in the province.

“Orders have been issued for uninterrupted supply of power and water to the emergency centres of all hospitals to deal with the mortality cases due to the heat wave,” Shah said.

Temperatures of around 44 to 45 degrees Celsius have been recorded in the port city of Karachi since Friday, which was also the first day of the holy month of Ramadan.

Pakistan's Meteorological Department recorded Saturday as the hottest day of this year's summer in Karachi, where the mercury shot up to 45 degrees Celsius.

Frequent power outages have also compounded people's woes and led to violent protests in several parts of Karachi, Pakistan's largest city with a population of 20 million.