ISLAMABAD, 9 July 2006 — Heat wave has claimed 49 lives across Pakistan during the last 24 hours. All of the fatalities, including that of 10 women, occurred in southern parts of Punjab where the mercury shot up to as high as 46 centigrade Celsius, the English language Daily Times reported. According to district coordination officers and district medical superintendents most of the people died in Multan, Rahim Yar Khan, Rajan Pur, Kandkot, Sibbi and Jaccobbad regions. Karachi, Lahore and even Islamabad were hard-hit by load shedding. Weather officials in Islamabad, however, said that the heat wave would start to peter out during the next 24 hours. “There are no chances of any immediate rains, but the heat wave will start to subside,” Muhammad Hanif of the Meteorological Department said. More than 100 people were killed by heat-related causes during April and May in various parts of the country.
