Heatstroke centre set up in Clifton

With temperatures expected to remain well into the high 30s for the next few days, the Sindh chapter of the Pakistan Red Crescent Society has established a heatstroke centre at Hilal-e-Ahmer House near Teen Talwar, Clifton to facilitate people.

Keeping in view the rising temperature, the centre has been set up to assist people who may be suffering from heatstroke and create awareness about the steps that can be taken to prevent it. The centre offers water and juices to commuters and pedestrians to combat dehydration and any heat-related health emergency.

Moreover, the society’s Sanghar chapter also conducted an awareness session regarding heat-related illnesses and their prevention, which was attended by about 200 people. Meanwhile, District Municipal Corporation (DMC) Korangi Syed Nayyer Raza also appealed to citizens to protect themselves from the hot weather.

According to a statement released on Tuesday, Raza has issued a heat alert to all the departments of DMC Korangi as well as the DMC-run hospitals and dispensaries to make arrangements for possible cases of heatstroke.

He also visited Shah Faisal, Malir, Korangi and Landhi areas where he reviewed cleanliness conditions and stated that all the garbage should be lifted at the earliest to make the district clean.

According to the Karachi Met Office chief Abdur Rashid, the city is witnessing a hot spell due to a change in the wind direction. He said the sea breeze has stopped blowing, because of which hot and dry winds from the country’s plains have changed the weather in the city.

“We are expecting this hot and dry spell to continue until Friday, following which the weather would turn a little pleasant,” he told The News in an earlier interview.

Advising people to keep themselves hydrated and to avoid working under the sun for long during noon and afternoon hours, Rashid said the elderly should take precautionary measures because the hot weather can create health issues for them.

Rise in temperature is a normal phenomenon for Karachi in summers when the temperature often touches 40°C, but after the deadly heatwave of June 2015, when hundreds of people died in the city, people have started worrying about every hot spell. — PPI/APP