The torrid heat of this past month is unlikely to be forgotten. South Asian countries are witnessing more frequent and powerful heat waves than ever before. According to the UK Met’s Office, climate change has made such events 100 times more likely in India and Pakistan in the past few decades. Heat waves are an alarming harbinger of increasing climate change, and Pakistan is no stranger to them.
Heat Waves in Pakistan
A heat wave occurs when the temperature in an area rises by 5 degrees C more than the average temperature in the region for five consecutive days. By this measure, recurring heat waves are documented across Pakistan annually between the months of April and June. Back in 2015, a searing heat wave in Karachi claimed over 1200 lives and left some 50,000 people sick. In 2018, such heat killed 65 people in the city in under three days.
Other regions experience some of the hottest temperatures on the planet. In June 2022, Jacobabad experienced scorching heat up to 51 degrees C, deemed “unlivable” by Amnesty International. Temperatures hit a perilous 52 degrees C only a year prior. Jacobabad, then, appears no stranger to recurring extreme heat.
Humidity worsens the situation. For every degree Celsius that the air warms, it can absorb up to 7% more water, creating a harmful combination of heat and humidity. This is known as the “wet-bulb” phenomenon, measuring heat-related stress on the human body. Beyond a specific humidity level, human adaptability to heat is severely hindered, despite the body’s reliance on sweat for cooling. Cities like Jacobabad and Lahore exceed the critical wet-bulb threshold of 31.5 degrees C annually, posing grave risks for human survival.
When the body heats too quickly to adequately cool itself, it becomes vulnerable to illness. Heat-related disorders, including heat exhaustion, heat strokes, and hyperthermia, are prevalent among individuals residing in such conditions, particularly outdoor laborers.
The Impact of Extreme Heat
Pakistan’s informal sector workers, constituting 71.7% of the labor force, face the greatest risks. Limited rest opportunities and reliance on daily income drive them to endure extreme heat for survival.
In a country with scarce electricity and water, heat waves create unbearable conditions for people. Prolonged power outrages shut down cooling infrastructure, leaving people without indoor heat relief. But even with electricity, impoverished communities often cannot afford high consumption to combat heat for long. Low-income groups also grapple with limited access to water, resulting in restricted consumption. As such, these communities disproportionately suffer from the combined impact of heat and limited resources, namely electricity and water.
For instance, studies reveal that poor women face elevated risks of death or severe health hazards during heat waves. The absence of cooling mechanisms in their homes, especially during prolonged indoor stay and domestic work, is often cited as the reason for this. While heat itself does not discriminate, income inequality amplifies these disparities.
The Climate Nexus
However, extreme heat does not mark the end of the story. In fact, heat waves are often a prelude to other climate risks like thunderstorms and flooding. Heat and humidity accumulate warm, moist air in the atmosphere, which rises to create favorable conditions for thunderstorms. The lethal combination of heavy rainfall and parched soil from the heat slows down the ground’s ability to absorb water, causing rapid runoff and flash flooding. Heat, storms, and flooding appear inextricably interlinked, forming a formidable nexus of climate risks.
For an impoverished nation, heavy rain poses a grave threat. In the past two weeks, devastating rainfall and flash flooding have claimed over 55 lives in Pakistan. Heat waves, then, contribute to the occurrence of other perilous extreme weather events, resulting in far-reaching consequences.
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