Pakistan’s minister for climate change, Senator Sherry Rehman, urged federal and provincial governments to take precautions to tackle the intense heat wave that has hit peaks of 47 degrees in parts of the country.
Temperatures would rise between 6 and 8 degrees Celsius (13.4 to 5.66 Fahrenheit) above average following the hottest March since 1961, she said.
Over a billion people in the zone are exposed to heat-related effects, scientists have warned, linking the start of an intense summer with climate change.
For the first time in decades, Pakistan experienced the shifts from winter to summer in no spring season, Rehman said.
Across South Asia, people were hunting for shelter from the scorching heat, as the New Delhi meteorological office said conditions would be the same for the next three days.
More people fell ill from exposure to heat, doctors in India said, adding that heatstroke was a bigger concern than a expected fourth wave of colds.
In Bhubaneshwar, in the Indian eastern state of Odisha, where schools have been closed, roads have been deserted and in neighbouring West Bengal the school holidays have been brought forward by several days.
From 2nd to 4th May, Rajasthan, Delhi, Punjab and Haryana are likely to experience rainfall and thunderstorm. So, the temperature from 2nd to 4th May will be between 36 degrees to 39 degrees Celsius: RK Jenamani, senior scientist, IMD pic.twitter.com/zSawjCmIQ2
— ANI (@ANI) April 29, 2022
