Washington — Heat waves in the past two months have killed a combined 3,000 citizens in India and Pakistan.
Is there anything the two countries could have done to minimise the harm?
“You don’t necessarily need a complicated solution,” Anjali Jaiswal, director of the India programme at the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group, told Mashable.
In both countries, residents complained about the lack of a reliable power supply and said that the government could have prevented deaths by investing in the electrical infrastructure. But Rajita Kurup, Oxfam India’s food and climate change programme coordinator, said most casualties were poor migrants who couldn’t afford air conditioners. Electric companies worldwide experience the highest demand during heat waves, as customers crank up air conditioners and fans to try to stay cool. But an overtaxed and aging electrical grid in Pakistan struggles to keep up with demand during normal temperatures. When heat waves hit, blackouts are common.
Pakistan newspaper Dawn reported the energy crisis put hospital patients at risk. Dr Khalid Masood, medical superintendent of a government-run hospital in Karachi, said the mortalities at the hospital would have doubled if they didn’t have a back-up generator.
He noted prevention steps are simple: drinking oral rehydration salts and covering the head with a wet cloth. In response to heat waves, the local government in Ahmedabad created a four-fold approach following a 2010 heat wave that led to 1,344 deaths in the region alone.
