Sizzling heat claims lives in Pakistan

May 8th, 2008 Sana · No Comments

Source: IOL

Islamabad - At least six people died as Pakistan reeled under a heatwave that sent the mercury soaring to 48°Cs in some areas, media reports said on Wednesday.

Three people, including an elderly woman, died in Khanpur in the scorching eastern province of Punjab, where the hottest temperatures were recorded, the Urdu-language Daily Express newspaper said.

Temperatures hovered around 45 in Punjab’s Sahiwal city. Three people died there.

“The current heatwave will continue for some days in some areas, and the temperatures will rise even further,” said Akran Anjum, the director of the National Weather Forecasting Centre in Islamabad.

The temperatures were expected to hit their highest point, around 51 or 52, in the middle of next week. In 2007, more than 300 people died of unbearable heat in the same month.

Frequent power outages, which sometimes extend to 16 hours in some areas, have added to the miseries of the people struggling against the heat.

Pakistan is currently facing a shortage of more than 3000 megawatts. - Sapa-dpa