So what is the hottest topic in the city these days? Yes it is heatstroke. With city temperatures soaring to heights that the citizens of this city could not even imagine a few years ago.
The problem is that this time around the heatwave is relentless and without any pauses be it day or night.
If the people having the blessings of an air conditioner cannot step out for a few minutes without feeling this immense heat just imagine those who are trying to survive this onslaught with just fans and the traditional desert coolers.
As expected this unnaturally high temperature onslaught is claiming lives and especially the elderly are vulnerable.
Just to give you an idea of the kind of temperatures the citizens of this metropolis are facing Karachi’s temperature the other day peaked to 41.5°C, this is a deviation of 5.7 degrees from the metropolis’ normal temperature of 35.8 degrees Celsius.
By the way the highest temperature Karachi has ever experienced is 48°C which was recorded on May 9, 1938.
The heat in Karachi is also unbearable because we are located next to the sea and thus humidity plays a major role as does the sea breeze which shuts off, depriving the citizens of this city with the little reprieve they can enjoy to this closeness to the sea.
How high is the casualty figure due to heat-related fatalities was revealed in a study conducted between 2000–2019. This study showed that approximately 489,000 heat-related deaths occur each year, with 45% of these in Asia and 36% in Europe.
Why is the figure higher in Asia as compared to Europe is perhaps the efficiency and high standards of patient care in Europe.
It is also the quick response of civic agencies and their innovative methods to save lives.
Not long ago there was a severe heat wave in the USA and the response was quick and effective. It was announced that all government agencies including the police will keep the doors of their air-conditioned offices open for any person who feels the effects of heat and they were allowed to come in rest, have a glass of cold water and if required paramedics were called to take care of these people.
How many lives we could save in a city like Karachi if all air-conditioned government offices opened their doors to those burning in the hot sun on the streets outside their offices?
Every day we hear of growing number of destitute people found dead on the streets. While people dying in hospitals are in double figures the number of those dying on the streets is running into hundreds if the figures released by agencies like Edhi are correct there is no more room to keep these dead bodies.
Many people cannot distinguish between a heatstroke and a sunstroke. These are two different phenomena. In a heatstroke the body loses its capability to cool itself down and temperatures reach dangerous levels. It is not necessary to be out in the open and under direct sunlight. A person sitting in a hot room with no fresh air can get a heatstroke while sunstroke is caused by actually getting direct sunlight resulting in same conditions.
A lot of people who think that only by being exposed to sunlight they can get a heatstroke can be unpleasantly surprised.
This summer and the unbearable heat will be according to some people long remembered. I beg to differ as no one knows what the future has in store for us. Nobody seems to be taking any concrete steps to halt the steep climb of world temperatures year after year.
Next year we might be faced with temperatures that will make this year’s look like child’s play and even before that happens we are now faced with a monsoon nurtured with the negative inertia of heat waves and who knows with what ferocity it will strike our cities as already the weather man is warning of unprecedented downpours accompanied by wind storms.
Let us just keep our fingers crossed and hope our civic agencies can handle what awaits us and nature shows us some mercy.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024