With the recent heat wave entering Karachi, along with the shortage of water supply and the increase in electricity load shedding, Karachiites are witnessing the hottest summers ever.

The death toll increased dramatically in the last heatwave resulting in a state-of-emergency being declared at all public hospitals and morgues overflowing with dead bodies.

The Sindh Health Minister, stated while talking to Geo TV that at least 347 people have died in the heatwave last June. However, unofficially reported, there has been a total of around 1000 causalities in public and private hospitals including those as well who died on impact, without even making it to the hospital.

Anybody can suffer from a heat stroke, but the people most prone to it in this weather are kids, senior citizens, pregnant women and people with existing medical conditions. A person suffering from a heat stroke should be rushed to the hospital immediately. In order to diagnose, here are some of the identifiers displayed by someone suffering from a heat stroke.

SYMPTOMS OF A HEATSTROKE

Very High Blood pressure

Red, hot and dry skin (Without sweat)

A dry and swollen tongue

Rapid pulse

A throbbing headache

Dizziness, confusion, and nausea

Eventual unconsciousness

With Army Camps being set up at different locations to help the citizens of Karachi, here is a list of things you can do to protect yourself and others from a heat stroke.

WAYS TO PREVENT HEATSTROKE

Make sure you dress yourself and your kids in “minimal, loose-fitting and lightweight clothing”

Drink plenty of fluids

Take regular showers more than once a day

Keep the environment as cool as possible – keep curtains drawn and minimal light

Be extra careful while administering any medicines since they may have certain harmful side effects (including causing dehydration)

Never stay in a parked car or any confined space without proper ventilation

Replace fatty foods with low-fat alternatives

Keep out of the sun

Avoid using any heat radiating devices such as hair straighteners and hair dryers

Limit your physical exhaustion by limiting physical activity

Try to stay away from kitchens and laundry rooms

However, if someone is already suffering from a heat stroke, make sure you follow the following steps while waiting for an ambulance

EMERGENCY STEPS FOR HEATSTROKE PATIENTS

Wet their skin with water or wrap it in wet a cloth after removing as much clothing from their body as possible or give them an ice bath

Fan continuously

Do not give the person fluids to drink

Position an unconscious person on their side and clear their airway

Apply ice packs to the patient’s armpits, groin, neck and back (These areas are rich with blood vessels and close to the skin so cooling them may reduce body temperature)

Monitor their body temperature and continue cooling efforts until the body temperature drops below 38C.

(Note: poorly ventilated or confined areas, or engaging in vigorous physical activity in hot weather increases the risk of dehydration and heat strokes)

Ensure that you follow all the above-mentioned guidelines and tell others about it as well in order to protect yourself from the heat this summers.

With the recent heat wave entering Karachi, along with the shortage of water supply and the increase in electricity load shedding, Karachiites are witnessing the hottest summers ever.

The death toll increased dramatically in the last heatwave resulting in a state-of-emergency being declared at all public hospitals and morgues overflowing with dead bodies.

The Sindh Health Minister, stated while talking to Geo TV that at least 347 people have died in the heatwave last June. However, unofficially reported, there has been a total of around 1000 causalities in public and private hospitals including those as well who died on impact, without even making it to the hospital.

Anybody can suffer from a heat stroke, but the people most prone to it in this weather are kids, senior citizens, pregnant women and people with existing medical conditions. A person suffering from a heat stroke should be rushed to the hospital immediately. In order to diagnose, here are some of the identifiers displayed by someone suffering from a heat stroke.

SYMPTOMS OF A HEATSTROKE

Very High Blood pressure

Red, hot and dry skin (Without sweat)

A dry and swollen tongue

Rapid pulse

A throbbing headache

Dizziness, confusion, and nausea

Eventual unconsciousness

With Army Camps being set up at different locations to help the citizens of Karachi, here is a list of things you can do to protect yourself and others from a heat stroke.

WAYS TO PREVENT HEATSTROKE

Make sure you dress yourself and your kids in “minimal, loose-fitting and lightweight clothing”

Drink plenty of fluids

Take regular showers more than once a day

Keep the environment as cool as possible – keep curtains drawn and minimal light

Be extra careful while administering any medicines since they may have certain harmful side effects (including causing dehydration)

Never stay in a parked car or any confined space without proper ventilation

Replace fatty foods with low-fat alternatives

Keep out of the sun

Avoid using any heat radiating devices such as hair straighteners and hair dryers

Limit your physical exhaustion by limiting physical activity

Try to stay away from kitchens and laundry rooms

However, if someone is already suffering from a heat stroke, make sure you follow the following steps while waiting for an ambulance

EMERGENCY STEPS FOR HEATSTROKE PATIENTS

Wet their skin with water or wrap it in wet a cloth after removing as much clothing from their body as possible or give them an ice bath

Fan continuously

Do not give the person fluids to drink

Position an unconscious person on their side and clear their airway

Apply ice packs to the patient’s armpits, groin, neck and back (These areas are rich with blood vessels and close to the skin so cooling them may reduce body temperature)

Monitor their body temperature and continue cooling efforts until the body temperature drops below 38C.

(Note: poorly ventilated or confined areas, or engaging in vigorous physical activity in hot weather increases the risk of dehydration and heat strokes)

Ensure that you follow all the above-mentioned guidelines and tell others about it as well in order to protect yourself from the heat this summers.

The following Web site would be useful:

http://www.redcross.org/prepare/disaster/heat-wave

A heatwave is an extended period of hot weather relative to the expected conditions of the area at that time of year.

A heatwave refers to a prolonged period of hot weather, which may be accompanied by high humidity. We tend to use the World Meteorological Organization definition of a heatwave which is "when the daily maximum temperature of more than five consecutive days exceeds the average maximum temperature by 5 °C, the normal period being 1961-1990". They are common in the northern and southern hemisphere during summer and classification and impacts vary globally.

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/learning/learn-about-the-weather/weather-phenomena/heatwave

Dear Colleagues,

Good Day,

"What is a heatwave and why are we having one?

What is a heatwave?

A region experiencing hot weather with temperatures higher than expected for that time of year, for a period of five consecutive days or more. High levels of humidity often accompany such weather.

The expected temperature for any region at any given time is calculated using temperature records taken over the previous 30-year period.

What do the forecasters expect?

A yellow level 2 heat health watch alert has been issued by the Met office meaning there is a 60% or above risk of threshold temperatures being reached in one or more regions on at least two consecutive days. This may affect vulnerable people.

Forecasters expect the temperatures to be high over the next few days. Most areas will experience temperatures of around 25C and above, some as high as the low 30s Celsius. The temperature is set to fall a little, during the weekend, to lows of 23C, however, humidity levels will be high as flash thunderstorms with heavy torrential downpours are forecast caused by a weather effect known as the "Spanish Plume".

The Spanish Plume is where warm air moves up from the the Spanish plateau to the UK, initially causing the warm weather over the UK, and meets cold air from the Atlantic, forcing the warm air to move rapidly upwards producing thunderstorms."...

Please, see the link for detail...

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/jul/16/heatwaves-questions-answers

Dear Colleagues,

Good Day,

"Why Is India's Heat Wave Off the Chart?

It often gets really hot in May in Phalodi, a city in the arid northeastern Indian state of Pajasthan. But last Thursday, it got really, really hot.

The thermometer reading that day peaked at 51 degrees Celsius, the equivalent of 123.8 degrees Fahrenheit, the Times of India reported. For perspective, that’s the hottest temperature ever recorded in India, beating the previous mark set back in 1956. It also was the third-highest temperature ever documented on Earth, exceeded only by the 134 degrees F in California’s Death Valley on July 10, 1913, and the 131 degrees F in Kebili, Tunisia on July 7, 1931.

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It got so hot in the city of 45,000 inhabitants that those brave–or perhaps unwise–people who dared to venture outdoors despite an official curfew found it difficult to remain there long. One man, a government employee named Murari Lal Thanvi, told BBC News that the heat was so punishing that his mobile phone, which he was trying to use to take pictures, stopped functioning because of overheating.

“I was able to switch my mobile phone on after putting a wet cloth on it for about 20-25 minutes,” he explained.

The unprecedented high was part of a heat wave that’s been punishing northern India, according to the Indian Meteorological Department, a division of the national governments’s Ministry of Earth Sciences. The department issued a warning of brutally more hot temperatures over the next five days. While there’s typically a stretch of several weeks in the spring when temperatures exceed 100 degrees in the run-up to the monsoon season, this year is much more brutal.

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It got so hot it even hindered the city’s extensive solar power-generating system. The latter, which has a capacity of 700 megawatts, reportedly generated 3 to 5 percent less electricity than usual. That’s because solar power is produced by the contrast between low-energy electrons in solar panels and the sun’s higher energy. When panels get too hot, it lessens the contrast, according to an FAQ by scientists at the University of California-Santa Barbara.

The New York Times reported that the heat wave has exacerbated the punishing effects of a drought, caused by inadequate rainfall from last year’s monsoon season. That’s led to lower crop yields and thirsty farm animals."

Please, see the link 

http://news.discovery.com/earth/weather-extreme-events/why-is-indias-heat-wave-off-the-chart-160524.htm

A heat wave is a prolonged period of excessive heat, sometimes impregnated with excessive humidity. Heat Index Value(HIV) is the metric. The value is low when heat comes along with relative humidity.

Thanks for sharing.

I have nothing to add. Dr. Ahmad and all other colleagues were very informative.

Heatwave is prolonged abnormally hot weather. 

Heat exhaustion is a major risk during heat waves because when people are exposed to a prolonged exposure to the sun, they begin to sweat profusely and dehydrate. Their body produces more heat than it can dispose of, and soon they experience weakness, cramps, and headaches. If care isn't given to the person suffering from heat exhaustion, that person is at risk of getting a heat stroke, in which the body's core temperature exceeds 105 degrees. This can damage the brain and other organs in the body, including the heart and kidneys.