Severe heatwave hits Pakistan's Karachi, alert issued

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Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) issued a fresh three-day heatwave alert for Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi starting from on Tuesday to Thursday, as the mercury is expected to hit a maximum temperature of 44 degrees Celsius, local Urdu TV channels reported on Tuesday.

The weather office said that a new heatwave of moderate to severe intensity would engulf Karachi and its suburbs for three days and day temperatures will remain 40 to 44 degrees Celsius. Sea breeze will remain cut-off, said the department, Xinhua reported. The city's administration has advised the citizens to stay indoors during the period and take extra precautionary measures for outdoor activities.

Local medics advised people to drink plenty of water, eat hydrating foods, avoid direct sunlight and wear light clothes to prevent themselves from the risk of heat stroke. The heatwave in the city coincides with the long hours of load shedding and the month of Ramadan, when millions of Muslims in Pakistan refrain from food and drink from dawn till dusk. Last week, a welfare organization, the Edhi Foundation, operating morgues and an ambulance service in the country, claimed that it had received over 65 bodies who had died of heat stroke.

However, the provincial health authorities denied the claim. A severe heatwave in 2015 killed at least 1,200 people, mostly elderly, sick and homeless mainly in Sindh province.

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