Alerting all the concerned departments in view ofthe heatwave expected in Karachi, the Provincial Disaster ManagementAuthority (PDMA) on Saturday issued guidelines to them as to how theycould protect people from the adverse effects of extreme temperatures.The guidelines were issued to different departments such as the KMC,traffic police, deputy commissioners, ambulance services, informationdepartment and the education department.In the guidelines, in which there was also a mention of the heatwavethat claimed several lives in the port city in 2015, the PDMA urged theconcerned department to ensure non-stop water to the city areas.
Similarly, the Authority directed the owners of ice factories tomanufacture ice round the clock so that labourers and others working inthe sun could be protected from heat.The Karachi-Electric (K-Electric) was also directed to ensure the supplyof electricity to all city localities 24/7.
“There should be noloadshedding in view of expected heatwave,” the PDMA said, adding,“Uninterrupted power supply to all hospitals must also be ensured.”The Authority directed the K-Electric to make sure that there were nopower outages at emergency centers. On the other hand, it was hot in theSindh capital in the morning.The weather department said that although the minimum temperature wasrecorded at 31 degrees Celsius, it felt like 36 degrees Celsius, and wasexpected to reach 38 degrees Celsius later in the day.The department said that light breeze was blowing from thesouth-westerly direction while the humidity level in the air wasrecorded at 66 per cent. However, the temperature would drop in theevening, it forecast.The Met Office predicted hot and humid weather for Karachi throughout May.
