Pakistan is still being crushed by a severe heat wave

Pakistan again faced abnormally high temperatures on Friday, May 13, reaching 50 degrees Celsius in some places, as authorities warned of the dangers of water shortages and health threats.

Large swathes of the country have experienced a record heat wave since late April that the United Nations World Meteorological Organization (WMO) considers “coherent” with climate change.

Temperatures jumped to 50 degrees Celsius in Jacobabad in southern Sindh province on Thursday, the Pakistan Meteorological Service (PMD) reported, saying it could remain that way until the end of the week.

Nationwide, temperatures range between 6 and 9 degrees Celsius “above normal” Seasonal, most notably PMD, the thermometer that displays on Friday 40 degrees Celsius in the capital Islamabad and major cities in Karachi (south), Lahore (east) and Peshawar (northwest).

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The flow of the Indus is down 65% this year

“This year, we went straight from winter to summer”PMD Meteorologist Zaheer Ahmed Babar said. According to him, since 2015 Pakistan has been exposed to rising temperatures, especially in the regions of Sindh and Punjab (central). Intensity, duration, and frequency [de ces épisodes caniculaires] more “He told Agence France-Presse. Scientists have warned that the situation is expected to worsen in the coming years in South Asia due to global warming.

The flow of the Indus is down 65% this year “Because of the lack of rain and snow”According to a spokesman for the Department of Irrigation in Punjab Adnan Hassan. The Indus River takes its source in Tibet, crosses India and then Pakistan before exiting into the Arabian Sea. Its basin provides 90% of the water supply for Pakistan.

The Pakistani press reported that the sheep had died from heatstroke and drought in the Cholistan desert in Punjab, the country’s most populous province. “There is a real danger of food and crop shortages this year in the country, if this water shortage continues.”Mr. Hassan stressed.

Pakistan, with a population of 220 million, says it is responsible for only 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions. However, it ranks eighth among the countries most threatened by extreme weather events, according to a study by the non-governmental organization Germanwatch.

India is also affected

The heat wave also hit neighboring India, with temperatures reaching 48.1 degrees Celsius on Thursday in the Barmer district of Rajasthan (Northwest). It could rise to 46°C from Sunday in New Delhi.

Very high temperatures were also reported over the weekend in much of northwest India, before an expected improvement with the arrival of the monsoon. On Tuesday, Pakistan’s Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman called on Lahore residents to stay in the shade “During the hottest hours of the day”.