AS large parts of southern Pakistan endure a heat wave that has killed more than 250 people in the city of Karachi alone — and the figure could be higher if some deaths have gone unreported — many may ask what, if anything, can be done to mitigate the impact of such destructive weather events.

Lashing out against a shortage of electricity, like many chose to do in the Sindh Assembly on Monday, does not take away from the fact that the country is generally not equipped to prevent weather-related tragedies.

True, long hours without power have only exacerbated the stifling heat but what must also be noted is that the majority of deaths have occurred largely in the city of Karachi, whereas the extreme temperatures have been felt from Sukkur to Turbat.

Even in Karachi, the deaths have been reported from the poorest localities — Lyari, Malir, Korangi and Karachi East — and day labourers are disproportionately amongst the affected ones.

The heat has hit all of us, but those who have not been able to survive its impact would not have been helped very much by greater supplies of electricity.

The first question to naturally arise is this: what can people in Jacobabad, Larkana, Sukkur and other towns of Sindh and Balochistan teach the people of Karachi about surviving an extreme heat wave?

Some answers might point towards cultural habits, like dressing appropriately to not expose crucial parts of the body to the direct rays of the sun, and managing work rhythms to avoid the hottest parts of the day. But life in large cities is far more demanding.

Dwellers here require heightened awareness of the various stages of heat injury to know well in advance when it is the right time to rest and find some shade. Perhaps the provincial government can run a quick awareness campaign about the types of symptoms to be on the lookout for, such as muscle spasms, headaches and faintness.

But complicating this effort is the month of fasting and the inability to rehydrate, which is an essential intervention to avert the onset of a heat stroke.

One thing is for sure though. Electricity for air conditioners is not the answer where the problem is the very low thermal efficiency of most of the construction undertaken in the hottest parts of the country. Perhaps raising the thermal efficiency standards of public buildings and mandating thermal efficient codes on new housing colonies and apartment buildings is the more logical first step.

Perhaps we can learn something from how revised building codes were implemented in the aftermath of the 2005 earthquake to make construction more resistant to tremors, and apply the same lesson to revising building codes in Karachi to promote thermal efficiency. That would be the long road to take, but it would certainly make future heat waves more bearable without causing large-scale power outages.

Published in Dawn, June 23rd, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play