No new heatwave this summer: Met official

KARACHI: The harsh heatwave which killed more than 1,300 people in Karachi and other parts of Sindh over the past few days has ended, says a Met official.
He said on Sunday that there was no threat of another such gruelling heatwave in the country, including its largest city along the Arabian Sea, this summer.
He said that in line with the climate pattern of June, hot and dry weather was expected in most parts of the country over the next few days with maximum temperature in the range of 45 to 47 degrees Celsius in the plains of south Punjab, upper Sindh, Sibbi and Makran divisions.
In the forecast for Monday, he said that a season low lay over Balochistan and adjoining areas with its trough extending north-eastwards. He said that weak moist currents were reaching the central and eastern parts and a shallow westerly wave was expected to approach upper parts of the country.
The weather official, meanwhile, said that rain-thundershowers were expected in some places of Malakand, Hazara, Kohat and Peshawar divisions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; in Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Dera Ghazi Khan, Multan, Faisalabad, Lahore, Gujranwala divisions in Punjab; in Zhob division in Balochistan; and Islamabad, Fata, Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.
Duststorm is also likely at some places in Multan, Dera Ghazi Khan, Sargodha, Sahiwal and Faisalabad divisions.
He said that on Sunday the weather remained hot and dry in most parts of the country although rain/thundershowers were reported from some places in Faisalabad, Hazara, Kohat divisions, Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.
The Met official said that weather in Islamabad was expected to remain partly cloudy on Monday with chances of rain/thundershowers with maximum temperature expected to remain between 37 and 39 degrees Celsius.
He said the maximum temperature in Karachi on Sunday was 37 degrees Celsius and minimum 30 degrees with 65pc humidity. On Monday the weather in the city is expected to remain hot and humid with maximum temperature in the range of 36 and 38 degrees.
He said that on Monday the weather in Lahore was expected to remain partly cloudy with chances of rain / thundershowers with maximum temperature ranging between 39 and 41 degrees Celsius.

The Iftar-cum-dinner season

KARACHI: Here we go again! It’s that time of year when the faithful try and keep away from culinary temptation from dawn till dusk. But a visit, even a fleeting one, to Karachi’s restaurants, including upmarket hotels, will paint a picture that is nothing less than incredible. These days, there are not many eateries which at the time of Iftar have empty spaces. Tables are booked beforehand, and if you can’t book your table, and if you are not wise enough to reach the venue at least an hour before breaking of fast, you are invariably consigned to a long wait list.
There’s a reason for it. This Ramazan the Iftar time in Karachi is nearly quarter past seven in the evening, which is almost dinner time for a considerable number of families. So once you break your fast, you are more likely to have dinner with it too, because if you eat food a few hours later, it is likely to spoil your elaborate Sahri plans.
This works in favour of the food industry. As a result, they have the Iftar-cum-dinner settings at restaurants and hotels, serving both Iftar snacks and dinner meals in tandem. Naturally, for that they charge a per-person amount, which has redefined the word exorbitant.
And yet, people flock to these eating spots like moths to flame. Why?

Afshan Azad aka Padma Patil: Another Harry Potter star is all grown up

That was Azad as an awkward 16-year-old teenager. At the age of 27 now, Azad is making everyone on the internet do a double take.
The fashionista looks like she could be a long lost Kardashian sister.
Are those eyebrows on fleek or what?
Although everyone's been hyping about her good looks, Azad is actually confused by all the buzz as she tweets:
She is clearly not too amused by all the sudden attention.
Oh well, she's still gorgeous and managed to look at the silver lining by the end of it!
From Ron's adorable date, actress Afshan Azad has grown into a gorgeous woman. The British starlet of Bangladeshi descent who played Padma Patil in Harry Potter: Goblet of Fire just earned some serious Neville Longbottom-like points!
Padma Patil was Ron's unimpressed date at the Yule Ball in the movie. Sorry Ron but it looks like you missed out big time!

How Pakistan and India can prevent fatalities from heat waves in future

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.

Busy road calls for urgent repairs

ISLAMABAD: One of the busiest roads of the twin cities, I.J Principal Road is in urgent need of repair to ensure smooth traffic flow.
While some maintenance work was begun last week, it was not completed and a major segment of the road is still riddled with numerous potholes.
The road was originally built for light traffic travelling at a speed of up to 80km per hour but heavy traffic has been allowed on the road for many years. Loaded trailers and trucks ply on it, damaging the road surface and forcing the traffic to move at snail’s pace.
“Those who drive fast on this pothole riddled road endanger not only their own lives but those of pedestrians,” Shoaib Ahmed, a motorist said in Sunday.
Ambulance drivers and their patients suffer when travelling on this damaged road. “I lost my keys when my motorcycle hit a big pothole,” a motorcyclist Arshad Khan said.
A commuter, Farid Khan, said every day a truck with a broken suspension, caused by the bumby surface of the road, is seen parked on the side.
“The Capital Development Authority (CDA) should immediately start repair work by filling the potholes and installing signboards which are missing,” Shamim Akhtar, a driver said.
According to a traffic police official some 200,000 vehicles use the IJP Road every day. The road is also a link between Rawalpindi and Islamabad.
The heavy flow of traffic from Pirwadhai, 9th Avenue, Double Road, Pindora Chungi, New Katarian, Dhoke Hassu, Khayaban-i-Sir Syed, and Faizabad enters I.J. Principal Road, creating traffic jams especially during rush hours.

Yemeni govt rejects new talks

 

Air strikes by Saudi-led forces hit military bases across Yemen on Friday, and the country’s foreign minister was quoted as saying there was no need to convene another peace summit after the first round of talks failed.
Talks in Geneva last week ended without a resolution to the conflict, which has claimed more than 2,800 lives, as the Iran-allied Houthi movement and Saudi-backed President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi refused to back down.
Ten people were killed in air raids in Jawf, a northern province bordering Saudi Arabia, residents said. Fighter jets also struck the capital Sanaa, the Houthis’ northern stronghold in Saada, as well as the provinces of Marib, Shabwa, Bayda and Aden in the centre and south of the country.
Mr Hadi’s Foreign Minister Reyad Yassin Abdulla said his government had no interest in organising a new meeting in Geneva, Saudi newspaper Asharq al-Awsat reported on Friday, and would instead work with all parties to implement United Nations Security Council resolution 2216.
The Houthis reject that resolution, which calls for them to withdraw from cities under their control, return seized arms and allow Mr Hadi to return from his Riyadh exile.

200 injured in explosion at Taiwan water park

TAIPEI: More than 200 people were injured, over 80 of them seriously, in an explosion at a water park outside Taiwan’s capital Taipei on Saturday after coloured powder being sprayed onto a crowd ignited, officials said.
Footage on the Apple Daily newspaper website showed crowds dancing as music played and clouds of powder being sprayed out which suddenly turned into a ball of fire that swept through the spectators.
“Our initial understanding is this explosion and fire... was caused by the powder spray. It could have been due to the heat of the lights on the stage,” said a spokesman for the New Taipei City fire department.

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The municipality’s deputy mayor said 221 had been hospitalised, with fire officials earlier saying 81 had been seriously injured. Local media reported that 97 people were seriously hurt.