Wind, rains cool Pakistan heat wave that killed over 700

Wind from the sea and pre-monsoon rains cooled southern Pakistan yesterday, likely marking the end of a scorching heat wave that killed at least 750 people, authorities said.

Temperatures in hard-hit Karachi dropped to 34 degrees Celsius, meteorologist Abdur Rasheed said. Hospital officials said admittances had dropped compared to previous days, when dehydrated patients lay in corridors and outside of clinics.

The port city has been in the grip of a heat wave called the worst in at least a decade, with temperatures reaching 45 degrees Celsius. Hours-long power outages, little running water and the majority of people fasting for the Muslim holy month of Ramadhan had worsened the situation.

During the heat wave’s worst days, Karachi residents tried to find running water to cool off at public taps or broken pipes.

Mohammad Sabir, a top government official, said at least 749 people had died as a result of the heat wave in Sindh province, of which Karachi is the capital.

“We’re forced to sleep in the streets,” resident Muzafar Khan said.

Political parties running the southern province and the federal government blamed each other for the disaster while debating the issue in parliament yesterday.