:2015 Pakistan heat wave
{{Short description|Heat wave in southern Pakistan}}
{{EngvarB|date=June 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{Infobox heat event
|title=2015 Pakistan heat wave
|pushpin_map={{Location map many
|Pakistan
|width = 350
|float = center
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|label1 = Karachi {{convert|45|C}}
|label1_size =
|position1 = right
|background1 =
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|lat1_deg = 24
|lat1_min = 51
|lat1_sec = 36
|lat1_dir = N
|lon1_deg = 67
|lon1_min = 0
|lon1_sec = 36
|lon1_dir = E
|
|label2 = Turbat {{convert|49|C}}
|label2_size =
|position2 = right
|background2 =
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|lat2_deg = 26
|lat2_min = 0
|lat2_sec = 15
|lat2_dir = N
|lon2_deg = 63
|lon2_min = 3
|lon2_sec = 38
|lon2_dir = E
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|label3 = Larkana {{convert|49|C}}
|label3_size =
|position3 = left
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|lat3_deg = 27
|lat3_min = 33
|lat3_sec = 36
|lat3_dir = N
|lon3_deg = 68
|lon3_min = 13
|lon3_sec = 35
|lon3_dir = E
|
|label4 = Rahim Yar Khan {{convert|43|C}}
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|position4 = right
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|lat4_deg = 28
|lat4_min = 25
|lat4_sec = 12
|lat4_dir = N
|lon4_deg = 70
|lon4_min = 18
|lon4_sec = 0
|lon4_dir = E
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|position6 = left
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|label7 = Multan {{convert|40|C}}
|label7_size =
|position7 = left
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|link7 =
|lat7_deg = 30
|lat7_min = 11
|lat7_sec = 52
|lat7_dir = N
|lon7_deg = 71
|lon7_min = 28
|lon7_sec = 11
|lon7_dir = E
|
|label8 = Nawabshah {{convert|41|C}}
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|position8 = left
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|position9 = left
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|lon9_sec = 1
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|pushpin_map_caption= A map marking significantly affected cities
|start_date=June 2015
|end_date=June 2015
|areas=Pakistan
|fatalities=About 2,000
}}
A severe heat wave with temperatures as high as {{convert|49|C}} struck southern Pakistan in June 2015. It caused the deaths of about 2,000 people from dehydration and heat stroke, mostly in Sindh province and its capital city, Karachi.{{cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-06-24/heat-wave-death-toll-rises-to-2-000-in-pakistan-s-financial-hub |title=Heat Wave Death Toll Rises to 2,000 in Pakistan's Financial Hub |first1=Kamran |last1=Haider |first2=Khurrum |last2=Anis |publisher=Bloomberg News |date=24 June 2015 |accessdate=3 August 2015}}{{cite news |url=http://www.dawn.com/news/1191234/heatstroke-leaves-another-26-dead-in-sindh |title=Heatstroke leaves another 26 dead in Sindh |first=Hasan |last=Mansoor |newspaper=Dawn |date=30 June 2015 |accessdate=9 August 2015}}{{cite news |url=http://arynews.tv/en/mercury-still-at-38-degrees-in-karachi |title=Heatwave death toll in Karachi reaches 1260 |publisher=ARY News |date=30 June 2015 |accessdate=19 August 2015 |archive-date=26 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226145347/https://arynews.tv/en/mercury-still-at-38-degrees-in-karachi/ |url-status=dead }} The heat wave also claimed the lives of zoo animals and countless agricultural livestock.{{cite news |url=http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2015/06/22/national/mortuaries-fill-up-as-heat-continues-to-take-scalps/ |title=Mortuaries fill up as heat continues to take scalps |newspaper=Pakistan Today |first=Aamir |last=Majeed |date=22 June 2015 |accessdate=3 August 2015}} The event followed a separate heat wave in neighboring India that killed 2,500 people in May 2015.{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/11645731/India-heatwave-death-toll-passes-2500-as-victim-families-fight-for-compensation.html |title=India heatwave: death toll passes 2,500 as victim families fight for compensation |agency=Reuters |date=2 June 2015 |accessdate=26 June 2015}}
Recorded temperatures
Extreme temperatures started to grip Pakistan's southern areas on 18 June 2015, and peaked on 20 June:{{cite news |title=Temperature soars to 46, load shedding adds to woes |url=http://www.geo.tv/article-188612-Temperature-soars-to-46-load-shedding-adds-to-woes |date=20 June 2015 |work=Geo TV |accessdate=22 June 2015 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150623002237/http://www.geo.tv/article-188612-Temperature-soars-to-46-load-shedding-adds-to-woes |archivedate=23 June 2015 |url-status=dead }}
| class="wikitable sortable" | ||
| Date | Place | Temperature |
|---|---|---|
| 20 June 2015 | Karachi | style="{{Weather box/colt|45}}"|{{convert|45|C|F}} |
| 20 June 2015 | Larkana | style="{{Weather box/colt|49}}"|{{convert|49|C|F}} |
| 20 June 2015 | Turbat | style="{{Weather box/colt|49}}"|{{convert|49|C|F}} |
| 20 June 2015 | Sibi | style="{{Weather box/colt|49}}"|{{convert|49|C|F}} |
| 20 June 2015 | Rahim Yar Khan | style="{{Weather box/colt|43}}"|{{convert|43|C|F}} |
| 20 June 2015 | Dadu | style="{{Weather box/colt|44}}"|{{convert|44|C|F}} |
| 20 June 2015 | Multan | style="{{Weather box/colt|40}}"|{{convert|40|C|F}} |
| 20 June 2015 | Nawabshah | style="{{Weather box/colt|41}}"|{{convert|41|C|F}} |
| 20 June 2015 | Hyderabad | style="{{Weather box/colt|42}}"|{{convert|42|C|F}} |
Karachi recorded its highest temperatures since 1979.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-33236067 |title=Pakistan heatwave: Death toll crosses 800 people in Sindh |work=BBC News |date=26 June 2015 |accessdate=9 August 2015}} By 24 June 2015, the temperature and death toll began to abate; the maximum temperature in Karachi was {{convert|98|F|C|order=flip}}, and officials reported 58 deaths compared to 300 the previous day.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/25/world/asia/pakistan-heat-wave-death-toll-rises.html |newspaper=The New York Times |title=Temperature and Daily Death Toll Fall as Heat Wave Appears to Abate in Pakistan |first1=Saba |last1=Imtiaz |first2=Zia |last2=ur-Rehman |date=25 June 2015 |accessdate=3 August 2015}}
Contributory factors
File:Edhi Morgue.jpg morgue in Karachi during the heat wave.]]
Asif Shuja, the former director general of the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency, claimed the heat wave was a symptom of global climate change, aggravated by deforestation, expansion of asphalt superhighways, and rapid urbanisation. He maintained that "there has been a rise in the Earth's average temperature from {{convert|15.5|C|F}} to {{convert|16.2|C|F}} over the last 100 years, due to which we are experiencing such extreme weather conditions both in summers and winters." Shuja went on to say that the lack of sophisticated weather prediction technology in Pakistan contributed to the casualties of the heat wave.{{cite news|title=Heat wave: Under scorching sun, Pakistan swelters |url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/907232/heat-wave-under-scorching-sun-pakistan-swelters/ |date=21 June 2015 |work=The Express Tribune |accessdate=22 June 2015 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150622203729/http://tribune.com.pk/story/907232/heat-wave-under-scorching-sun-pakistan-swelters/ |archivedate=22 June 2015 |url-status=live }}
Moreover, widespread failures of the electrical grid left many locations without working air-conditioners, fans, or water pumps, adding further to the death toll. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif tasked a committee comprising Abdul Qadir Baloch, a retired General of the Pakistan Army and Minister for States and Frontier Regions, together with State Minister for Health Sciences Regulation and Coordination Saira Afzal Tarar. The two Ministers visited Karachi's Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre in the wake of deaths due to the severe heat wave. Speaking to the media during their visit, Baloch said that the K-Electric was being investigated for load shedding.{{cite news |url= http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-189268-Qadir-Baloch,-Saira-Afzal-visit-Karachi-to-meet-heat-stroke-victims- |title= Qadir Baloch, Saira Afzal visit Karachi to meet heat stroke victims |newspaper=The News International |date= 26 June 2015 |accessdate=1 July 2015}} Baloch held the K-Electric, KW&SB and Sindh government responsible for the increase in heat wave mortality in Karachi.{{cite news |url=http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2015/06/26/city/karachi/pml-n-ministers-lash-out-at-sindh-govt-k-electric-during-karachi-visit/ |title=PML-N ministers lash out at Sindh govt, K-Electric during Karachi visit |newspaper=Pakistan Today |date= 26 June 2015 |accessdate=1 July 2015}} The power regulator NEPRA reported that K-Electric was not generating electricity according to its generation capacity.{{cite news |url=http://www.samaa.tv/pakistan/29-Jun-2015/k-electric-responsible-for-load-shedding-in-karachi |title= K-Electric responsible for load shedding in Karachi |work=Samaa TV |date=29 June 2015 |accessdate=1 July 2015}}
The heat wave coincided with the month of Ramadan, when Muslims observe fasting and no drinking from dawn till dark. This increased the risks of dehydration and heat stroke.{{cite web |url=http://www.ibtimes.co.in/pakistan-heatwave-ramadan-fatwa-allows-muslims-break-fast-during-day-death-toll-rises-637032 |title= Pakistan Heatwave: Ramadan Fatwa Allows Muslims to Break Fast During the Day as Death Toll Rises |last=Variyar |first=Mugdha |work=International Business Times |date=25 June 2015 |accessdate=25 June 2015}}
Emergency measures
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif declared a state of emergency, activated military relief efforts, and warned electric supply companies that he would not tolerate power outages during Ramadan. The Sindh government declared an emergency for all government hospitals in the province, and the University of Karachi postponed its exams for at least one month.{{cite news |title=Heatwave kills more than 120 in Pakistan |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/asia/pakistan/11690501/Heatwave-kills-more-than-120-in-Pakistan.html |agency=AFP |date=22 June 2015 |accessdate=22 June 2015}} An influential Muslim cleric in Pakistan decreed a fatwa that if "a religious and qualified doctor" advises (for safety of life), Muslims are allowed to skip or break their Ramadan daytime fast, and then to complete those days of fasting when Ramadan and the emergency have passed. At the peak of the June 2015 heat wave, the number of corpses exceeded local capacities for storage or burial, as the emergency efforts proved insufficient to prevent enormous loss of life.{{cite news|url=http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/sindh/27-Jun-2015/after-more-than-1-100-deaths-people-raise-their-hands-in-prayer-for-rain |title=After more than 1,100 deaths, people raise their hands in prayer for rain |newspaper=Daily Times Pakistan |date=27 June 2015 |accessdate=28 June 2015 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150701001715/http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/sindh/27-Jun-2015/after-more-than-1-100-deaths-people-raise-their-hands-in-prayer-for-rain |archivedate=1 July 2015 }}
See also
References
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{{List of heat waves|state=autocollapse}}
{{Portal bar|Pakistan||Weather}}
Category:2015 disasters in Pakistan
Category:2015 natural disasters