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In Jacobabad, Pakistan, a Heat Wave Is Pushing the Limits of Human Livability
In Jacobabad, One of the Hottest Cities on the Planet, a Heat Wave Is Pushing the Limits of Human LivabilitySubtitle:
Temperatures in this landlocked city in Pakistan’s Sindh Province crossed 100 degrees for 51 straight days in March, and reached 123.8 degrees earlier last month.
Excerpt:
JACOBABAD, Pakistan—Sajjad Ali lies semi-conscious in the heatstroke center at Civil Hospital here, an intravenous line in his wrist delivering fluids to his dehydrated body.
Ali, 15, operates a tractor in the fields on the outskirts of Jacobabad—one of the hottest cities on Earth—and was carried to the hospital after his temperature remained at 102 degrees Fahrenheit for a week.
On the opposite side of the ward, kept at a cool 78 degrees by a whirring air conditioner, Muhammad Musa occupies another bed, its cobalt blue frame contrasting starkly with his face, which is drained of color. A farm worker in Jacobabad’s rice fields, Musa, 65, arrived with a 102 degree temperature, body aches and severe dehydration.
Jacobabad, a landlocked city in Pakistan’s Sindh Province nearly 340 miles north of Karachi, is pushing the limits of human livability on a warming planet. Since the beginning of March, an unprecedented heat wave has gripped India and Pakistan, affecting more than a billion people on the subcontinent. And Jacobabad has been among the cities worst hit, experiencing temperatures in excess of 100 degrees for 51 straight days. Last month, the temperature here reached 123.8 degrees and before that, reached 122 degrees on three separate occasions...
...The 2022 heat wave in South Asia is already estimated to have caused more than 90 deaths in India and Pakistan, and to have resulted in glacial melts in northern Pakistan and reduced wheat crop yields in India. According to a recent report published by the World Weather Attribution Initiative, the onset of the heat wave was made 30 times more likely by climate change.
Back at the heatstroke center, Bashir Ahmed, a duty nurse, asked Ali how he was feeling. But the 15-year-old struggled to gather enough energy to speak a full sentence, his lips dry and half parted.
Ahmed did not seem worried. The medical staff in the hospital is not easily phased by heat stroke patients. In May alone, more than 100 people were admitted to the center for heat-related illnesses, but no deaths have been recorded so far.
Two hours later, both patients were recovering. Musa’s body temperature had gone down to 100 degrees, but he would still need another hour to regain enough energy to sit up. Despite the fever, this was the first time in weeks he had been in a room with temperatures low enough for him to relax.
Musa kept a checkered black and white linen scarf over his eyes and drifted into a light sleep. He is among 70 percent of Jacobabad’s population of roughly 200,000 who live below the poverty line, primarily farm workers and daily wage earners in factories or brick kilns...
Ali, 15, operates a tractor in the fields on the outskirts of Jacobabad—one of the hottest cities on Earth—and was carried to the hospital after his temperature remained at 102 degrees Fahrenheit for a week.
On the opposite side of the ward, kept at a cool 78 degrees by a whirring air conditioner, Muhammad Musa occupies another bed, its cobalt blue frame contrasting starkly with his face, which is drained of color. A farm worker in Jacobabad’s rice fields, Musa, 65, arrived with a 102 degree temperature, body aches and severe dehydration.
Jacobabad, a landlocked city in Pakistan’s Sindh Province nearly 340 miles north of Karachi, is pushing the limits of human livability on a warming planet. Since the beginning of March, an unprecedented heat wave has gripped India and Pakistan, affecting more than a billion people on the subcontinent. And Jacobabad has been among the cities worst hit, experiencing temperatures in excess of 100 degrees for 51 straight days. Last month, the temperature here reached 123.8 degrees and before that, reached 122 degrees on three separate occasions...
...The 2022 heat wave in South Asia is already estimated to have caused more than 90 deaths in India and Pakistan, and to have resulted in glacial melts in northern Pakistan and reduced wheat crop yields in India. According to a recent report published by the World Weather Attribution Initiative, the onset of the heat wave was made 30 times more likely by climate change.
Back at the heatstroke center, Bashir Ahmed, a duty nurse, asked Ali how he was feeling. But the 15-year-old struggled to gather enough energy to speak a full sentence, his lips dry and half parted.
Ahmed did not seem worried. The medical staff in the hospital is not easily phased by heat stroke patients. In May alone, more than 100 people were admitted to the center for heat-related illnesses, but no deaths have been recorded so far.
Two hours later, both patients were recovering. Musa’s body temperature had gone down to 100 degrees, but he would still need another hour to regain enough energy to sit up. Despite the fever, this was the first time in weeks he had been in a room with temperatures low enough for him to relax.
Musa kept a checkered black and white linen scarf over his eyes and drifted into a light sleep. He is among 70 percent of Jacobabad’s population of roughly 200,000 who live below the poverty line, primarily farm workers and daily wage earners in factories or brick kilns...
Unbelievable...
But...but...but...but, Three Mile Island.
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