WORLD

Pakistan sets up over 1,000 heat wave camps

Relief shelters are equipped with places of rest, water and glucose

DT · May 23, 2024, 12:20 AM

Youths cool off as water bursts out from a damaged water pipe line amidst a heatwave in Karachi on May 21, 2024. — Photo courtesy by AFP

KARACHI (AFP) — Over 1,000 camps have been set up across Pakistan’s southern province of Sindh in anticipation of a severe heat wave, disaster management officials said Tuesday.

The Pakistan Meteorological Department said temperatures are expected to hit as high as 50 degrees Celsius in parts of rural Sindh.

“These camps have been set up to provide relief to affected people, and to help reduce instances of heat stroke and other heat-related diseases,” Ajay Kumar assistant director of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority told Agence France-Presse.

“They are also equipped with places of rest, water and glucose to give to people as and when these are needed,” he added.

The heat wave will affect much of the country, building over the next week.

Schools in the province have already postponed annual examinations scheduled for this week, including in the mega port city of Karachi, home to more than 20 million people.