Albania hosts MWL chief for Eid sermon at largest mosque in the Balkans    Saudi Arabia launches pavilion at Bologna International Book Fair 2025    Rare Kaaba interior coverings showcased at Islamic Arts Biennale in Jeddah    Haramain High-Speed Railway transports over 1.2 million passengers during Ramadan    Marine Le Pen sentenced to prison, barred from office over EU funds embezzlement    UK returns over 24,000 migrants as Starmer scraps Rwanda deportation plan    Missing US soldiers' armored vehicle recovered from Lithuanian swamp    Myanmar declares seven days of national mourning after devastating earthquake    Saudi Transport Authority says passengers can ride for free if taxi meters are off    Ministry of Education forms 425 community partnerships with SR653 million impact    Defense, interior, and national guard ministers extend Eid greetings, praise efforts of military and security personnel    Mexico bans junk food in schools to fight childhood obesity epidemic    Elon Musk's xAI acquires X in all-stock deal    Sweet sales surge ahead of Eid as Saudi chocolate imports top 123 million kg in 2024    Saudi creatives shine at Jeddah's Fawanees Nights with art, fashion, and storytelling    100 Thieves claim Marvel Rivals Invitational NA crown as 2025 scene heats up    T1 CEO confirms Gumayusi's return for LCK Spring after lineup shakeup    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Saudi Arabia hold Japan to goalless draw in Saitama to stay in World Cup hunt    NewJeans announces hiatus after setback in court battle    George Foreman, heavyweight champion and cultural icon, dies at 76    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    King Salman prays for peace and stability for Palestinians in Ramadan message King reaffirms Saudi Arabia's commitment to serving the Two Holy Mosques and pilgrims    Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan 'out of danger' after attack at home in Mumbai    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Pakistan hit by deadly cholera outbreak as heatwave grips South Asia
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 17 - 05 - 2022

A deadly cholera outbreak linked to contaminated drinking water has infected thousands of people in central Pakistan as the country grapples with a water crisis exacerbated by a brutal heatwave in South Asia.
Temperatures in parts of Pakistan and India have reached record levels in recent weeks, putting the lives of millions at risk as the effects of the climate crisis are felt across the subcontinent.
Cholera cases were first identified in Pir Koh, a remote mountainous town in Balochistan province, on April 17. Since then, more than 2,000 people have been infected and six have died, according to Dr. Ahmed Baloch, from the health department of Balochistan.
Residents in Pir Koh say they have no access to clean drinking water. The lack of rain this year has caused nearby ponds to dry up, with their only source of water being a pipeline which had "rusted and contaminated the water supply," said local resident Hassan Bugti.
"Residents are forced to drink dirty water," he said.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered "emergency relief measures" to curb the cholera outbreak in Pir Koh, and the military has been called in to help provide mobile water tanks to ensure clean drinking water gets to the population and set up medical camps to treat the sick.
Cholera is an acute diarrheal illness that kills thousands of people worldwide each year. It is easily transmitted, by consuming food or water contaminated with the fecal bacteria Vibrio cholerae. And scientists have warned of the severe impacts of climate change on human health, with rising temperatures encouraging the spread of dangerous pathogens such as cholera.
The outbreak comes as Pakistan faces a serious water crisis and an early onset heatwave that the Pakistan Meteorological Department said has been persistent across the nation since the start of the month.
Jacobabad, one of the hottest cities in the world, in central Sindh province, hit 51 degrees Celsius (123.8 degrees Fahrenheit) on Sunday, and 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) the day before. Average high temperatures in the city this month have been around 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit).
The heat is unlikely to abate soon. While dust storms, gusty winds and scattered showers and thunderstorms brought relief to parts of the country over the past couple of days, temperatures are expected to ramp back up from Wednesday, according to the Pakistan Meteorological Department.
Pakistan's Minister for Climate Change Sherry Rehman on Monday said Pakistan was among the most water-stressed countries in the world and one of the ten most vulnerable to climate stress.
The country's major dams are at a "dead level right now, and sources of water are scarce as well as contested," Rehman told CNN, adding, "this is an all-encompassing existential crisis and must be taken seriously."
In the summer of 2015 a heatwave killed more than a thousand people in Pakistan's largest city, Karachi.
The heatwave has also been felt by Pakistan's neighbor India, where temperatures in the capital region of Delhi surpassed 49 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit) on Sunday.
In recent months India has experienced a severe heatwave that saw average maximum temperatures reach the highest in 122 years in northwest India in April, and countrywide in March.
The scorching heat breached the 49 degrees Celsius mark for the first time this year in Delhi, with temperatures reaching 49.2 degrees Celsius (120.5 degrees Fahrenheit) at Delhi's Mungeshpur weather station and 49.1 degrees Celsius (120.3 degrees Fahrenheit) at Najafgarh weather station on Sunday, according to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD). New Delhi has suffered through 14 days in May above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).
Gurgaon, southwest of New Delhi, recorded its highest temperature since May 10, 1966, with 48.1 degrees Celsius (118.5 degrees Fahrenheit) on Sunday, according to the IMD.
The IMD forecasts some relief for Delhi, with cloudy and clear skies for the next couple of days. However, it forecasts high temperatures to return in some parts of the region later in the week.
In some states, the heat has forced schools to close, damaged crops and put pressure on energy supplies, as officials warned residents to remain indoors and keep hydrated. On Saturday, India banned wheat exports -- days after saying it was targeting record shipments this year -- as the heatwave curtailed output and domestic prices hit a record high.
India often experiences heat waves during the summer months of May and June, but this year temperatures started rising in March and April.
India and Pakistan are among the countries expected to be worst affected by the climate crisis, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Experts say climate change is causing more frequent and longer heat waves, affecting more than a billion people across the two countries.
Dr. Chandni Singh, IPCC lead author and senior researcher at the Indian Institute for Human Settlements, said this heatwave "is testing the limits of human survivability."
"This heatwave is definitely unprecedented," Singh said earlier this month. "We have seen a change in its intensity, its arrival time, and duration. This is what climate experts predicted and it will have cascading impacts on health." — CNN


Clic here to read the story from its source.