DO the rulers have what it takes to protect citizens from sizzling temperatures? Apathetic and myopic, they have learnt nothing from Karachi’s human toll in 2015, when brutal heatwaves claimed 1,200 lives and 40,000 people suffered heat strokes and heat stress. In the newest heat spell in the city, 29 corpses have been found over the past three days, triggering an inquiry to determine the cause of death; 24-hour data at JPMC shows 22 cases of heat stroke while the Indus Hospital recorded eight. The health department has confirmed one heat-related casualty. Edhi Foundation’s mortuary logged 427 bodies in four days and Faisal Edhi says that “the majority are from poor areas where there is extended load-shedding”. In the civilised world, these figures would sound the death knell of a government.

Lessons and actions are overdue. The government must hit the ground running with a nationwide strategy comprising enhancement of facilities at hospitals, mobile health units and cooling stations in low-income localities and along congested routes. In addition, there has to be continuous mapping of hotspots in urban and rural parts so that rapid response mechanisms can rescue people in time. Moreover, vulnerable residents should have first-aid services at their doorstep. Heatwaves cannot be wished away. In fact, they are set to worsen in Pakistan and India. Hence, there is little choice but to curtail the asphalt and increase tree cover by converting vast tracts into forests, alongside upgrading and expanding parks and water bodies. Experts assert that foliage is the only way out of global warming — trees, dubbed natural air-conditioners, reduce temperatures by at least 4°C, provide shade, absorb carbon in the atmosphere, emit oxygen and normalise monsoon patterns. Pakistan must transition to renewable energy, limit greenhouse gas fumes and develop a robust transport system to stem the deluge of vehicles. In a rapidly warming world, saving human lives cannot be delayed.

Published in Dawn, June 27th, 2024