ISLAMABAD: Climate change is taking its toll on Pakistan as the weather department has expressed the fear that summers in the country would be harsher and prolonged in the years to come.
Already large parts of the country are in the grip of a heatwave as daytime temperatures in these areas are several degrees above average.
To make matters worse, the weather department has predicted that the heat would become more severe in days to come.
It has forecast five to seven degrees above average temperatures for the upper and central parts of the country.
On the other hand, talking to the 24News TV channel, Meteorological Department Deputy Director Irfan Virk has said that it is being observed for the last several years that the spring season in Pakistan has shrunk while the summer season starts early.
“There has been a lot of urbanization in the country in recent years due to which trees have been cut, resulting in abrupt changes in weather,” Virk has explained.
He has informed that although rains are expected in the upper parts of the country in the next day or two, which will turn the weather pleasant, but that will provide a temporary relief as temperatures will shoot up again.
It was hot in Lahore on Saturday morning as the temperature rose to 29 degrees Celsius.
The Met Office said that the maximum temperature was likely to touch 42 degrees Celsius later in the afternoon.
Breeze was blowing at the speed of 8 kilometers per hour, while the level of humidity in the air was recorded at 48 per cent.
The Met Office said that excessively high temperatures would be recorded across Punjab, including Lahore, from May 15 to May 20.
Just like in other parts of the country, the weather in Karachi was hot and humid in the morning as the temperature was recorded at 30 degrees Celsius.
Breeze was blowing from south-westerly direction at the speed of 10 to 15 kilometers, while the humidity level in the air stood at between 70 and 80 per cent.
Extreme heat also persisted in other cities and towns of Sindh such as Shikarpur, Lakhi Ghulam Shah, Khanpur, Garhi Yasin and others where people thronged stalls selling soft drinks and juices.
Even in Islamabad, daytime temperature hovered around 40 degrees Celsius on Saturday, while the Met Office, on the other hand, said that heat would persist in the federal capital and its suburbs until May 19.
In Balochistan too, the weather is hot to extremely hot. Temperatures are above average in the southern areas of the province.
Sibbi and Turbat are the hottest places in the province where maximum temperature has reached close to 50 degrees Celsius.
