More than 600 people have died from a three-day heatwave in southern Pakistan

Jun 23, 2015

More than 600 people have died from a three-day heatwave in southern Pakistan

Kalani Gordon 0 Comment The Baltimore Sun

A scorching heat wave across southern Pakistan’s city of Karachi has killed more than 600 people, authorities said Tuesday, as morgues overflowed with the dead and overwhelmed hospitals struggled to aid those clinging to life.

Temperatures reaching 113 degrees Fahrenheit began scorching Pakistan’s port city of Karachi over the weekend. Hourslong power outages, typical in Pakistan, also struck the city, leaving fans and air conditioners inoperable as the majority of people in this Muslim country abstain from food or water during the holy fasting month of Ramadan.

: A Pakistani man cools off at a river during a heatwave on the outskirts of Islamabad on June 22, 2015. A heatwave in Pakistan’s largest city Karachi and other districts of southern Sindh province has killed at least 122 people, health officials said. The southern port city of Karachi saw temperatures reach as high as 45 degrees Celsius (111 degrees Fahrenheit) on June 20, just short of an all-time high in the city of 47 C in June 1979. (Aamir Qureshi/AFP/Getty Images)

: A Pakistani youth cools off in the sea during a heatwave in Karachi on June 22, 2015. Nearly 200 people have died in a heatwave in southern Pakistan, officials said, as the government called in the army to help tackle widespread heatstroke in the worst-hit city Karachi. (Rizwan Tabassum/AFP/Getty Images)

: A Pakistani man cool off with his children in the sea during a heatwave in Karachi on June 22, 2015. Nearly 200 people have died in a heatwave in southern Pakistan, officials said, as the government called in the army to help tackle widespread heatstroke in the worst-hit city Karachi. (Rizwan Tabassum/AFP/Getty Images)

: A Pakistani Muslim man cools down with water at a mosque during a heatwave in Karachi on June 22, 2015. Nearly 200 people have died in a heatwave in southern Pakistan, officials said as the government called in the army to help tackle widespread heatstroke in the worst-hit city Karachi. (Asif Hassan/AFP/Getty Images)

: Pakistani Muslims rest at a mosque during a heatwave in Karachi on June 22, 2015. Nearly 200 people have died in a heatwave in southern Pakistan, officials said as the government called in the army to help tackle widespread heatstroke in the worst-hit city Karachi. (Asif Hassan/AFP/Getty Images)

: A Pakistani man carries a heatstroke victim to a hospital in Karachi on June 23, 2015. More than 450 people have died from a three-day heatwave in southern Pakistan, officials said as medics battled to treat victims after a state of emergency was declared in hospitals. (Rizwan Tabassum/AFP/Getty Images)

: Pakistani men rest inside a railway station during a heatwave in Karachi on June 23, 2015. More than 500 people have died from a three-day heatwave in southern Pakistan, officials said as medics battled to treat victims after a state of emergency was declared in hospitals. The majority of the deaths occurred in the port city of Karachi, Pakistan’s economic hub of around 20 million people, where temperatures reached 45 degrees Celsius (111 Fahrenheit), said Sabir Memon, a senior provincial health official. (Rizwan Tabassum/AFP/Getty Images)

: A Pakistani man rests under the shade of trees during a heatwave in Karachi on June 23, 2015. More than 500 people have died from a three-day heatwave in southern Pakistan, officials said as medics battled to treat victims after a state of emergency was declared in hospitals. The majority of the deaths occurred in the port city of Karachi, Pakistan’s economic hub of around 20 million people, where temperatures reached 45 degrees Celsius (111 Fahrenheit), said Sabir Memon, a senior provincial health official. (Rizwan Tabassum/AFP/Getty Images)

: Pakistani men rest in the shade of trees during a heatwave in Karachi on June 23, 2015. More than 500 people have died from a three-day heatwave in southern Pakistan, officials said as medics battled to treat victims after a state of emergency was declared in hospitals. The majority of the deaths occurred in the port city of Karachi, Pakistan’s economic hub of around 20 million people, where temperatures reached 45 degrees Celsius (111 Fahrenheit), said Sabir Memon, a senior provincial health official. (Rizwan Tabassum/AFP/Getty Images)

: Pakistani youths play in the sea during a heatwave in Karachi on June 23, 2015. More than 500 people have died from a three-day heatwave in southern Pakistan, officials said as medics battled to treat victims after a state of emergency was declared in hospitals. The majority of the deaths occurred in the port city of Karachi, Pakistan’s economic hub of around 20 million people, where temperatures reached 45 degrees Celsius (111 Fahrenheit), said Sabir Memon, a senior provincial health official. (Rizwan Tabassum/AFP/Getty Images)

: Pakistani volunteers provide drinking water to people outside a government hospital during a heatwave in Karachi on June 23, 2015. More than 500 people have died from a three-day heatwave in southern Pakistan, officials said as medics battled to treat victims after a state of emergency was declared in hospitals. The majority of the deaths occurred in the port city of Karachi, Pakistan’s economic hub of around 20 million people, where temperatures reached 45 degrees Celsius (111 Fahrenheit), said Sabir Memon, a senior provincial health official. (Rizwan Tabassum/AFP/Getty Images)

: People cool themselves with a broken water pipeline in Islamabad, Pakistan as temperatures increased during Ramadan, Tuesday, June 23, 2015. More than 100 people have died from heatstroke in the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi in the last two days, officials said. (AP Photo/B.K. Bangash)

: A man tries to help another who has fainted due to the heat at a roadside in Karachi, Pakistan, Tuesday, June 23, 2015. A scorching heat wave across southern Pakistan’s city of Karachi has killed more than 400 people, authorities said Tuesday, as morgues overflowed with the dead and overwhelmed hospitals struggled to aid those clinging to life. (AP Photo/Shakil Adil)

: People cool themselves off at Karachi’s shore in Pakistan, Tuesday, June 23, 2015. A scorching heat wave across southern Pakistan’s city of Karachi has killed more than 400 people, authorities said Tuesday, as morgues overflowed with the dead and overwhelmed hospitals struggled to aid those clinging to life. (AP Photo/Shakil Adil)

: People cool themselves off with water in Karachi, Pakistan, Tuesday, June 23, 2015. A scorching heat wave across southern Pakistan’s city of Karachi has killed more than 400 people, authorities said Tuesday, as morgues overflowed with the dead and overwhelmed hospitals struggled to aid those clinging to life. (AP Photo/Shakil Adil)

: People rush a patient to a hospital suffering from heatstroke in Karachi, Pakistan, Tuesday, June 23, 2015. A scorching heat wave across southern Pakistan’s city of Karachi has killed more than 400 people, authorities said Tuesday, as morgues overflowed with the dead and overwhelmed hospitals struggled to aid those clinging to life. (AP Photo/Shakil Adil)

: People cool themselves off at Karachi’s shore in Pakistan, Tuesday, June 23, 2015. A scorching heat wave across southern Pakistan’s city of Karachi has killed more than 400 people, authorities said Tuesday, as morgues overflowed with the dead and overwhelmed hospitals struggled to aid those clinging to life. (AP Photo/Shakil Adil)

: People cool themselves off in polluted water near a port during a high heat wave, in Karachi, Pakistan, Monday, June 22, 2015. More than 100 people have died from heatstroke in the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi in the last two days, officials said Monday. (AP Photo/Shakil Adil)

: People rush a patient to a hospital suffering from heatstroke in Karachi, Pakistan, Tuesday, June 23, 2015. A scorching heat wave across southern Pakistan’s city of Karachi has killed more than 400 people, authorities said Tuesday, as morgues overflowed with the dead and overwhelmed hospitals struggled to aid those clinging to life. (AP Photo/Shakil Adil)

: A Pakistani patient suffering from heatstroke waits for medical help at a local hospital in Karachi, Pakistan, Tuesday, June 23, 2015. A scorching heat wave across southern Pakistan’s city of Karachi has killed more than 400 people, authorities said Tuesday, as morgues overflowed with the dead and overwhelmed hospitals struggled to aid those clinging to life. (AP Photo/Shakil Adil)

: Pakistani children cool off in a polluted canal in Islamabad, Pakistan, where temperature rose on Friday, May 29, 2015. Many cities in Pakistan are facing heat wave conditions with temperatures reaching 46 degrees Celsius (114.8 Fahrenheit) in some places. (AP Photo/B.K. Bangash)

: Pakistani youths cool off themselves at a river on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan, Sunday, June 21, 2015. Many cities in Pakistan are facing heat wave conditions with temperatures reaching 49 degrees Celsius (120.2 Fahrenheit). (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

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