Hospitals are overwhelmed with patients suffering from heatstroke and severe dehydration.
“Patients are reporting symptoms like high fever, weakness, gastroenteritis, vomiting and diarrhea in numbers far exceeding normal,” said Nasreen Gul, a nurse at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center, the city’s largest state-run hospital.
Government officials have sought to play down reports of large-scale heat wave fatalities. Karachi Commissioner Hassan Naqvi, citing data from government hospitals, suggested that the number of deaths related to the heat was minimal.
Government officials have established cooling centers across the city. Charitable organizations are also providing some relief to residents, setting up roadside camps to offer water misting as well as glasses of cool water or Rooh Afza, a popular summer beverage in South Asia.
Rain last Thursday brought relief to Karachi after the midday temperature peaked at 104 degrees Fahrenheit. But it highlighted the city’s vulnerability to the summer’s other major weather problem: devastating floods.
“We can pray for rain to cool the weather,” said Ali Afzal, 44, a car mechanic in Karachi whose house was demolished in the July 2022 urban flooding caused by heavy rains. “But more rain poses another challenge, especially for city residents ill prepared to handle it.”
