An unprecedented heat wave in 60 years hits Pakistan and India

Pakistan has issued a heat alert after experiencing temperatures unmatched in March in 61 years, officials said.

In neighboring India, schools were closed and streets were empty of pedestrians in some areas, with no indication that the sweltering heat wave had abated on Friday.

Sherry Rehman, the Pakistani minister responsible for combating climate change, urged the federal and provincial governments to take precautionary measures against the intense heat wave, which has seen temperatures in some parts of the country reach 47 degrees Celsius.

"There are expectations that temperatures in Pakistan may be between six and eight degrees Celsius above average," she said in a statement.

According to meteorological reports, March is the hottest since 1961.

Scientists have warned that more than a billion people are at risk of heat-related effects in the region and have linked the early onset of sweltering summers to climate change.

Rahman said that for the first time, the country moved to summer weather from winter without going through spring.

The New Delhi weather bureau said the weather conditions would remain the same for the next three days.

Doctors in India said the number of people getting sick from exposure to high temperatures was increasing, which made heat stroke a greater concern than the outbreak of a fourth wave of Covid-19.

Roads were deserted in Bhubaneshwar in eastern Odisha state as schools were closed, while neighboring West Bengal offered a few days of summer school holidays.

A senior scientist at the Indian Meteorological Department said Friday that the rise in temperatures will continue for at least the next three days, but it may subside slightly with the start of the rainy season expected in some areas by May.

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