Pakistan's PM Nawaz Sharif has
called for emergency measures as the death toll from a heatwave in
southern Sindh province reached nearly 700.
The army is now being deployed to help set up heat stroke centres, with temperatures reaching 45C (113F).
Officials have been criticised for not doing enough to tackle the crisis.
There
is anger among local residents at the authorities because power cuts
have restricted the use of air-conditioning units and fans,
correspondents say.
Matters have been made worse by the widespread abstention from water during daylight hours during the fasting month of Ramadan.
Sporadic protests
On
Tuesday, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said it had
received orders from Mr Sharif to take immediate action to tackle the
crisis.
This came as Sindh province Health Secretary Saeed
Mangnejo said 612 people had died in the main government-run hospitals
in the city of Karachi during the past four days. Another 80 are
reported to have died in private hospitals.
Many of the victims are elderly people from low-income families.
Thousands more people are being treated, and some of them are in serious condition.
Hot weather is not unusual during summer months in Pakistan, but
prolonged power cuts seem to have made matters worse, the BBC's Shahzeb
Jillani reports.
Sporadic angry protests have taken place in parts
of Karachi, with some people blaming the government and Karachi's main
power utility, K-Electric, for failing to avoid deaths, our
correspondent adds.
The prime minister had announced that there would be no electricity
cuts but outages have increased since the start of Ramadan, he reports.
Analysis: BBC's Shahzeb Jillani in Karachi
There's
anger on the street about the government's slow response to the crisis.
The provincial PPP government appeared aloof and unresponsive. The
federal government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif woke up to the tragic
deaths on the third day.
While politicians blamed each other for
not doing enough, the army - always keen to seize opportunities to
demonstrate its soft power - sprang into action to set up "heat stroke
relief camps".
By the fourth day, a campaign was launched to reiterate steps people should take in sizzling temperatures.
Many in Karachi feel that had the authorities moved proactively many lives could have been saved.
The hope now is that with the expected pre-monsoon rains later in the
week the weather will improve. That will certainly provide much-needed
respite to millions affected by the heatwave, but it won't change the
chronic underlying problems this ever-growing city of 20 million faces -
a dysfunctional infrastructure and poor governance.
How the body copes with extreme heat
The body's normal core temperature is 37-38C.
If
it heats up to 39-40C, the brain tells the muscles to slow down and
fatigue sets in. At 40-41C heat exhaustion is likely - and above 41C the
body starts to shut down.
Chemical processes start to be affected, the cells inside the body deteriorate and there is a risk of multiple organ failure.
The body cannot even sweat at this point because blood flow to the skin stops, making it feel cold and clammy.
Heatstroke
- which can occur at any temperature over 40C - requires professional
medical help and if not treated immediately, chances of survival can be
slim.
There are a number of things people can do to help themselves. These include:
wearing damp clothes which will help lower the body's temperature
sticking one's hands in cold water
placing fans next to windows as this will draw air from outside, which should be cooler
wearing looser clothes
having a lukewarm shower rather than a cold one
fanning the face rather than other parts of the body
What happens to the body in extreme heat? Eight low-tech ways to keep cool in a heatwave Karachi
resident Iqbal told the BBC on Monday that no-one in his family could
go outside to work because of the temperature and that everyone in their
area preferred to stay at home.
"In our area, there is no
electricity [since the] morning. We have complained several times, but
there is no response from K-Electric," he said.
According to Pakistan's metrological office cooler weather is forecast from Tuesday.
The all-time highest temperature reached in Karachi is 47C, recorded in 1979.
Last month, nearly 1,700 people died in a heatwave in neighbouring India.
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