ISLAMABAD: Authorities in Pakistan’s Punjab province have warned of an “intense” heat wave in southern districts of the province next week, urging people to take precautions and avoid going outdoors unnecessarily.

There is a severe risk of heatwave in Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Dera Ghazi Khan and Multan districts from May 21 to May 27, according to the provincial disaster management authority (PDMA).

Authorities have been given instructions to set up heatwave counters in all hospitals and ensure the supply of all essential medicines.

“All departments can fight heat wave by working together and cooperating [with each other],” PDMA Director-General Irfan Ali Kathia said in a statement. “The next ten days are predicted to be engulfed by severe heat wave.”

Climate change-induced extreme heat impacts human health in multiple ways. Direct effects of exposure to extreme heat and heatwaves can include heat-related illnesses such as heat cramps, heat exhaustion, heatstroke, and hyperthermia. It can make certain chronic conditions worse, including cardiovascular, respiratory, and cerebrovascular disease and diabetes-related conditions, and can also result in acute incidents, such as hospitalizations due to strokes or renal disease.

Citizens are being informed about the dangers of heatwave through print, electronic and social media, according to the PDMA DG.

“The public is requested to take precautionary measures. Avoid exertion and exercise in strong sunlight,” he said. “Do not step out of the house unnecessarily. Wear light colored cotton clothes.”

People may dial the PDMA helpline 1129 or Rescue 1122 in case of an emergency situation, the official added.

Increased exposure to heat, and more heatwaves, have been identified as one of the key impacts of climate change in Pakistan, with people experiencing extreme heat and seeing some of the highest temperatures in the world in recent years. The South Asian country of more than 241 million, one of the ten most vulnerable nations to climate change impacts, has also recently witnessed untimely downpours, flash floods and droughts.

According to the Global Climate Risk Index, nearly 10,000 Pakistanis have died while the country has suffered economic losses worth $3.8 billion due to climate change impacts between 1999 and 2018. A deadly heatwave that hit Pakistan’s largest city of Karachi, the capital of Sindh, claimed 120 lives in 2015.

In 2022, torrential monsoon rains triggered the most devastating floods in Pakistan’s history, killing around 1,700 people and affecting over 33 million, a staggering number close to the population of Canada. Millions of homes, tens of thousands of schools and thousands of kilometers of roads and railways are yet to be rebuilt.
 

ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Ishaq Dar announced the government has arranged three commercial flights to repatriate around 540 Pakistani students from Bishkek today, Sunday, following violent clashes in the city this week that led to the evacuations.

The development took place after frenzied mobs attacked foreign nationals in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek on Friday. The attacks began after videos of a brawl between Kyrgyz and Egyptian students went viral on social media, prompting furious mobs to target hostels of medical universities and private lodgings of international students, including Pakistanis, in the city.

The first batch of around 130 Pakistani students arrived in Lahore late Saturday night. According to official statistics, around 10,000 Pakistani students are enrolled in various educational institutions in Kyrgyzstan, with nearly 6,000 residing and studying in Bishkek.

“Three commercial special flights have been arranged for today (Sunday) on which 540 students will come back while 130 returned yesterday,” Dar told reporters during a media briefing in Lahore.

“A special flight of Pakistan Air Force will also bring around 130 students. So far, 50 students have registered themselves to come on this flight,” he added.

Dar said he spoke with the foreign minister of Kyrgyzstan today, Sunday, who assured him that the situation in the country was under control and that no new incidents had occurred since Friday afternoon.

“Kyrgyz foreign minister has confirmed that 16 foreign students including four to five Pakistanis got injured during this incident and are under treatment,” Dar said.

He added that Kyrgyzstan’s government has also assured that security at students’ hostels has been enhanced and that they were constantly monitoring the situation.

Earlier on Saturday evening, the PM’s Office said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had directed Dar and another cabinet member, Amir Muqam, to travel to Bishkek on Sunday and address the situation there.

Dar said they were not traveling to the country at the Kyrgyzstan government’s request, adding that Pakistan has instead sent two officers from the foreign office to facilitate the country’s embassy.

“We were supposed to leave today for the Kyrgyz republic but their foreign minister requested [us] not to come because it would give the wrong impression about the incident and would provide fuel to the opposition,” Dar said.

He said Kyrgyzstan’s foreign minister has categorically denied any Pakistani students were killed in the clashes.

“Their (Kyrgyzstan) foreign minister also said they have arrested a few culprits and assured that no one involved will be spared,” the deputy prime minister said.

Dar said Pakistan’s foreign office had summoned the Kyrgyz Charge d’Affaires to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday for a demarche over the current situation.

“It [violence] happened due to a clash between students and foreign students were targeted from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Arab countries,” he said.

Dar said Pakistan’s embassy had confirmed the situation is not tense anymore and that Pakistanis injured are being provided the best possible medical facilities.

Separately, in a telephone call with Pakistan’s Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan Hasan Ali Zaigham, PM Sharif instructed the embassy to make the necessary arrangements for the special plane to bring back Pakistani students.

The prime minister said injured Pakistani students should be brought back to Pakistan on a priority basis.

“The Prime Minister also instructed to ensure repatriation of family members residing in Kyrgyzstan with the Pakistani students,” PMO said.