The Pakistani port city of Karachi has been battered by extreme temperatures this week. Source
Since temperatures in Karachi, Pakistan soared to almost 40 degrees Celsius this week, hospitals across the city have had their hands full treating heatstroke cases. Worse still, power cuts are making it difficult for citizens to stay cool indoors as the government struggles to pay dues.
Though temperatures are expected to decline slightly next week, it’s a reprieve that will come too late for many. In the last several days, city mortuaries have been overwhelmed by hundreds of bodies. The true death toll may be even higher given the difficulty of diagnosing heat-related deaths.
Heat stroke, the main cause of death during such disasters, is characterized by a variety of symptoms, including nausea, dizziness, and headache, as well as more severe signs like vomiting, diarrhea, and high fever. Though anyone can be affected, the very young, the very old, and the poor tend to bear the brunt. Many of the casualties in Karachi’s current crisis are homeless people or drug addicts.
Karachi’s heat wave, while tragic, is not an outlier; it comes amidst record-breaking temperatures worldwide in 2024. Mecca, the site of the Hajj, a pilgrimage that sees over a million Muslims converge on Saudi Arabia each year, was battered by heat this month, causing some 1300 deaths. India has seen its own record temperatures and recorded more than 40,000 heat stroke cases and 100 deaths, largely due to a historic heat wave that began in May.
In country after country, we are seeing the consequences of global warming play out, and it’s unlikely to get any better. After records were repeatedly broken in recent years, 2024 has a 61% chance of being the hottest on record and a 100% chance of being one of the hottest 5. Heat deaths are also on the rise as governments struggle to keep up.
The rising death toll from heat waves in Asia. Source
Though it’s easier for wealthier countries with better infrastructure to ignore the current crisis, no country is safe. Each lethal heat wave adds to the need for global action on climate change. Experts have long warned that extreme weather events will become more frequent and severe as the planet warms. Yet, despite these warnings, progress on reducing greenhouse gas emissions has been slow, and the world continues to see the consequences of failure.
Even though the long-term solution of controlling climate change seems lofty, most heat-related deaths are preventable right now. Some deaths are the result of poor awareness among the general public. Most others can be reduced by combating socioeconomic inequity.
It's not a surprise that the poor will suffer more than any other group as the climate crisis ramps up. Many of the world’s poor rely on labor-intensive outdoor jobs that expose them to extreme heat, leaving them no choice but to risk death. In India alone, that includes some 380 million people, or over 25% of the population. Others live in slums where there is little shade from plant cover and buildings are hastily constructed in a way that retains heat, slowly boiling occupants alive. Still more are homeless or drug addicts like so many of Karachi’s dead, giving them no place to go when the outdoors become uninhabitable. Their vulnerability is compounded by limited access to quality healthcare, air conditioning, and even clean drinking water.
As heat waves get longer and hotter, it’s time for governments to catch up. Climate change has severe health implications and is a global health concern like any other. Admittedly, it requires a different approach from health threats like cancer or malaria, but it can still be countered. Governments could build air-conditioned shelters and couple this with targeted messaging to ensure the most vulnerable seek help. Labor protections, such as breaks for workers during heat waves, are another step forward.
While there is still much to be learned, mitigating the health burden of the climate crisis is not an understudied area by any means. Now is the time for governments everywhere to implement what we already know.
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