Hot weather makes many places like “living in hell”

To reduce the pressure on the power system, people here have to alternate power cuts for up to 9 hours a day. “We are living in hell,” Turbat resident Nazeer Ahmed told The Guardian. Meanwhile, farmers in Balochistan province almost lost their apple orchards, with some days without electricity for up to 18 hours.

Northwest and central India also experienced their hottest April in 122 years, according to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), while a city in Pakistan’s Sindh province recorded high temperatures. 49 degrees Celsius on April 30, one of the scariest “world records”.

Many parts of India are also cut off power 9 hours a day. By the end of May, 650 passenger trains will be canceled to make way for freight trains, to replenish coal for power plants.

Some states like West Bengal and Odisha have closed schools. “Many children have nosebleeds, they can’t stand this heat wave,” West Bengal Governor Mamata Banerjee told CNN.

People in New Delhi – India take a nap under a bridge right in the middle of the Yamuna River with many areas already inert Photo: REUTERS

It is estimated that more than 1.5 billion people around the world are suffering from a similar situation, as scorching summer temperatures arrive as early as two months. The heat wave also devastated crops, including wheat, and various fruits and vegetables. In India, wheat production fell by as much as 50% in some of the regions with the most extreme temperatures, adding to the burden on the global food situation.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), India is forecast to be one of the countries most affected by the climate crisis. Researcher Chandini Singh from IPCC described the current heat wave as “testing the limits and viability of people”.

Pakistan’s climate minister Sherry Rehman said that while some places were extremely dry, the heatwave had caused glaciers in the north of the country to melt at an unprecedented rate, leading to the risk of flooding. floods in other regions. This is the first time in decades that Pakistan has experienced what many call a “year without a spring”.

According to the World Meteorological Organization, the “hell” temperatures in India and Pakistan are what they have been predicting, and warn that heat waves will be more frequent, more intense and start earlier each year. five.