Multanites experienced the hottest days of the current summer on Sunday and Monday with the mercury touching 45.2 degree Celsius, forcing the Multanites to stay inside their homes and avoid unnecessarily coming on roads.
Loadshedding and frequent electricity tripping also added to their miseries. Reportedly, the heat wave has not only paralysed citizen's routine life but also dozens of Multanites suffered heat-stroke in the different parts of the city. Three persons identified as Mai Bakkhan, Allah Ditta and Ali Ahmed lost their lives.
According to experts temperature on the roads was more than 50 degree celsius and in rooms was 45.2 degree Celsius. The roads and streets looked deserted from morning till sunset, as the extremely hot weather forced inhabitants to stay at home. According to the local met office, the scorching heat wave continues in different parts of the South Punjab.
The current spell of hot and dry weather would persist during the next 24 hours. The health experts also warned the residents to adopt preventive measures against sunstroke following the scorching heat that is expected to continue and may be fatal especially for kids and old people. They advised the people to remain indoors during daytime to avoid their exposure to blazing sun and cover their heads and ears with towel.
Principal of Nishtar Medical College, Professor Dr Laiq Hussain Siddiqui said that sunstroke or heat-stroke could cause death if necessary preventive measures were not adopted. The sunstroke victims have symptom of exhaustion, fatigue, heavy sweating, weakness, faintness and dark yellow urine at early stage. When the body can no longer keep the temperature normal, heat exhaustion becomes heat-stroke, which has the symptoms like high body temperature over 106 F or 41 Celsius, hot and dry skin, absence of sweating, muscle cramps, flushing, shallow breathing and a rapid and weak pulse, he added.
Medical superintendent at Nishtar Hospital, Dr Zafar Niazi said people with dehydration should be given first aid immediately and should be taken to a hospital and they must be shifted under a shady area or cooler place. He observed that people suffering from obesity are at greater risk of sunstroke and dehydration and if an affected person remains untreated, the symptoms might be fatal because prolonged fever can cause brain damage, shock, heart or kidney failure," he warned.