Pakistan's southern Sindh province on Thursday put emergency services on high alert as another heatwave hit the South Asian nation with temperatures expected to climb as high as 50 degrees.
The Sindh government ordered the setting up of a dozen first response centres in the port city of Karachi where a combination of a tropical depression and humidity could make the heatwave deadly, local official Ali Sajjid said.
Karachi, one of the most populous cities in the world with over 20 million residents, witnessed a severe heatwave in 2015 that left over 1,200 people dead.
Both Pakistan and India have been in the grip of heat waves since March, a phenomenon experts say simply reflects the reality of climate change.
Temperatures reached 48 degrees in some cities in Pakistan on Thursday and might reach 50 in coming days, metrological official Sardar Sarfraz said, adding that the heatwave was expected to last until next Tuesday.
The provincial authorities have ordered hospitals to set up special units to treat victims of heat stroke and have advised people to stay indoors and avoid exposure to the sun.
Pakistan's climate change minister Sherry Rehman said on Thursday that the country faces an existential threat from global warming.
The South Asian nation is ranked eighth in a list of countries most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, despite being responsible for less than 1% of all global carbon emission.
Scientists attribute Pakistan's vulnerability to climate change to its proximity to both China and India, which are both highly industrialized societies, as well as fast melting glaciers in the Himalayas.
