Karachi, Nov. 01: Is the winter season vanishing from Karachi? Are the Karachiites going to experience only “hot” and “very hot” weather 12 months a year? Is the growing challenge of climate change going to hit the business capital the hardest?
These are few questions after recent data recorded by Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) sent ripples through the environmentalists and mythologists which suggests that Karachi has experienced the hottest nights in its history this October surpassing a 57-year-old benchmark.
According to the PMD the recently passed month has set new temperature records for the city as previously, the lowest average temperature for October was noted at 30.6 degrees Celsius in 1967. This year, however, Karachi recorded a minimum average temperature of 30.9 degrees Celsius, exceeding the previous record by 0.3 degrees.
The lowest night temperature in October 2023, in comparison, was logged at 25.7 degrees Celsius. The impact of the change in weather trend is quite visible in daily lives of the Karachiites. Even with the beginning of November, the coastal city is still quite hot, dry and occasionally humid making the “feel like” temperature at times much higher than the recorded one.
The unprecedented change in weather trend has already started affecting daily lives of the Karachiites. Even the Sindh Assembly recently was reverberated with the concerns over impacts of climate change and harsh weather conditions on lives of the people of Karachi in particular and in Sindh in general.
Amid an alarming rise in chikungunya cases in the metropolis, the Sindh Assembly early this week was informed that recent rainfall and climate change had led to an increase in vector-borne diseases (VBDs) across the province.
In her call-attention notice, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan lawmaker Sikandar Khatoon said that the cases of chikungunya had been rising in the province and its test was very expensive. She asked about the measures being taken by the provincial government to control the rapid spread of the disease.
Replying to this, Parliamentary Secretary for Health Nida Khuhro of the Pakistan Peoples Party conceded that the rainfall and climate change had resulted into favourable breeding conditions for mosquitoes which led to increase in vector-borne diseases.
She said that the provincial government was taking preventive measures, including frequent fumigation campaigns to eliminate mosquitoes. She said that the government was planning to launch awareness campaigns as well.