New Delhi: Hospitals in Pakistan are seeing hundreds of patients every day after experiencing heatstroke. Students are forced to skip their exams due to prolonged load shedding. Now, the power outages are leading to protests in Karachi and Peshawar, among other cities.
Karachi had its hottest day of the year on 29 May, with temperatures hitting 41.5°C, according to Pakistan Meteorological Department data. The highest ever temperature recorded in Karachi was 48°C on 9 May 1938, Dawn reported.
For students in Sindh, the day was worse. Those sitting in intermediate exams were unable to take their exams in nine districts due to 12–18 hours of load shedding, according to local news reports.
Temperatures in Sindh soared to 51°C on Wednesday.
From Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to Gilgit-Baltistan, protests have gripped Pakistan against power cuts amid the onslaught of the heatwave.
In Golimar, Karachi, protesters blocked roads for over two hours, causing significant traffic congestion. In Khyber district’s Landi Kotal, people stormed a grid station, demanding an end to the 20-hour-long load shedding. Similar protests occurred in the Chilas area of Gilgit-Baltistan, where traders observed a shutter-down strike. Citizens in Balochistan’s Nasirabad and Usta Muhammad took to the streets, protesting against a 12-hour load shedding by burning tyres and blocking highways.
With the heatwave driving up the need for electricity, the infrastructure struggles to meet the rising demand. This has resulted in widespread power outages that hit small businesses disproportionately.
The southwest and northwest regions of the country are the worst hit. Like New Delhi, the town of Mohenjo-daro in Sindh has found itself thrust into the spotlight as temperatures soared to unprecedented levels recording a high of 52.2°C over the last 24 hours.
In Punjab, Pakistan’s largest province by population, around 26 million students will be affected by the decision to advance the start of the summer break by one week due to extreme temperatures.
The recent spike in temperatures comes on the heels of Pakistan’s wettest April since 1961, a stark contrast to the arid conditions typically associated with the region.
Despite contributing less than 1 per cent to carbon emissions, Pakistan finds itself bearing the brunt of these climate disasters, underscoring the disproportionate impact of global warming on developing nations.
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Pakistan’s approach to climate change
The Global Climate Risk Index, which assesses countries’ susceptibility to climate change, ranks Pakistan fifth. A recent UN report cautions that Pakistan will face increasingly severe extreme weather events. This includes not only annual large-scale floods but also Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) in the north due to melting glaciers, unprecedented heatwaves, droughts, forest fires in various regions, and cyclones in the south, all exacerbated by climate change.
Meanwhile, the political landscape reflects a growing recognition of climate-related challenges. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), led by Nawaz Sharif and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari respectively, had emphasised climate change issues in their manifestos and proposed numerous mitigation and adaptation measures.
The Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), too had reiterated the party’s commitment to environmental initiatives, such as the ‘Billion Tree Tsunami‘ under the ‘Green Growth Initiative’.
(Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)