Nearly 150 die of heatstroke in Pakistan

At least 148 people have died in a heatwave in Pakistan's largest city Karachi and surrounding districts.

Hundreds of Karachi residents are treated for heat-related conditions including fever and dehydration,(AAP Image/NEWZULU/SYED RIZWAN ALI)

Hundreds of Karachi residents are treated for heat-related conditions including fever and dehydration,(AAP Image/NEWZULU/SYED RIZWAN ALI)

At least 148 people have died in a heatwave in Pakistan's largest city Karachi and other districts of southern Sindh province.

Hundreds more are being treated for heat-related ailments, including fever and dehydration, said a spokeswoman for Jinnah Hospital.

She added that most of the deaths have been among elderly people.

Karachi, the provincial capital and economic centre of Pakistan, was the worst affected, said Saeed Mangnejo, Health Secretary of the Sindh government.

Karachi saw temperatures reach as high as 45C on Saturday and 43C on Sunday, falling just short of a record high in the city of 47C in June 1979.

The Sindh government has declared a state of emergency in Karachi hospitals and medical staff holidays have been cancelled.

The heatwave is expected to continue over the next two days although late morning rains might lower temperatures, Muhammad Hanif, spokesperson of the Pakistan Meteorological Department told EFE.

Heatwaves are common in neighbouring India with 2,000 people killed in the country's southeast last month.


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Source: AAP


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