News / Pakistan

Heatwave death toll reaches over 100: Pakistani media

Sunday, 21 June 2015 8:03 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 21 June 2015 11:17 PM ]

EDHI volunteers (In red jersey) and relatives shift the dead body of a heat wave victim into an ambulance at the EDHI morgue in Karachi on June 21, 2015. (AFP photo)

More than 100 people have lost their lives as a severe heat wave hits Pakistan's port city of Karachi.

The latest death toll from the recent heat wave in southern Pakistan stood at 131, according to the Pakistani Geo TV.

*Relatives mourn the death of a heat wave victim at the EDHI morgue in Karachi on June 21, 2015. (AFP)*

The report said all the deaths had occurred in the past 48 hours, as the country's largest city saw temperatures reach as high as 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) on Saturday.

Seemi Jamali, the executive director of Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Center, confirmed that the deaths occurred due to heat-related diseases.

Meanwhile, morgue belonging to EDHI, a non-profit social welfare organization, in Karachi has received 130 bodies from different parts of the city.

The heat wave hit southern parts of Pakistan bringing about water scarcity and electricity cuts in the holy month of Ramadan.

Power outages have worsened the problem in Karachi as water supply cannot pump enough water to the city with 20 million residents.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has warned electricity supply companies that he would not tolerate power outages during the holy month, an official in Sharif's office said.

Pakistan's meteorological department said temperatures would likely fall in the coming days, however, doctors have asked people to avoid exposure to the sun and stay indoors during the day.

Moreover, Karachi University postponed its exams for at least one month due to the blistering heat wave.

In May, a heat wave sweeping across the neighboring India killed more than 2,500 people.

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