A state of medical emergency has been declared in Pakistan where a deadly heatwave has killed more than 700 people.
Soaring temperatures have hovered in the mid-40s for days in Karachi, Pakistan's largest southern city, where faltering electricity is making the problem worse.
Aileen Phillips reports.
Coping with the scorching heat has been made harder by the power cuts which are a daily part of life in Pakistan.
The heatwave, mostly affecting the Sindh province, Southern Punjab, and Balochistan, has claimed mostly elderly lives.
As power cuts render air-conditioning and fans useless, matters have been made worse by the widespread abstention from water during daylight hours during the fasting month of Ramadan.
Karachi resident Zobair Ali's father is in intensive care with heatstroke.
"The electricity situation is such that there is no knowing when the power will come on. It's obvious that the power will go but no one can tell when it will come back. Everything is going wrong because of the power outages."
Anger is growing among residents over the lack of reliable electricity, and politicians are blaming each other for not doing enough.
The army has set up emergency relief centres to treat those affected.
Water and Power Minister Khawaja Asif says the issue is outside the jurisdiction of the provincial government.
"We can only sympathize. And if the Sindh government needs any help, we, the provincial government, are ready to help. However, it is an issue for the Sindh government."
However, Opposition minister Asad Umar has accused him of trying to shift the blame.
"The provincial and the federal governments are both responsible for the deaths in Karachi. No doubt the problem arose from the heat, but there is always excessive heat from time to time. The electricity system failed very badly."
The former director general of the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency, Asif Shuja, claims the heatwave is symptomatic of climate change, made worse by deforestation, and rapid urbanisation.
That view is supported by opposition parliamentarian, Afrasiab Khattak, who says it's time for the government to start focusing on the wider environmental problem.
"What will happen tomorrow? What will happen after 50 years? After 100 years? Our forests are being cut down. So much else is happening which is bringing environmental changes, which is causing freak weather. Environment is a very vital issue on which we need to work."
It's hoped expected pre-monsoon rains due later in the week will provide much-needed respite to the millions affected by the heatwave.
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