A HEATWAVE HAS KILLED AT LEAST 50 PEOPLE IN PAKISTAN SINCE THE START OF MAY, PROMPTING AUTHORITIES TO WARN PEOPLE TO STAY OUT OF THE MIDDAY SUN AS TEMPERATURES CROSS 50 CELSIUS (122 FAHRENHEIT) IN THE SHADE. MONSOON RAINS ARE DUE IN JULY, AND PRIME MINISTER SHAUKAT AZIZ CALLED ON PAKISTANIS LAST WEEK TO PRAY FOR RAIN AS WATER LEVELS IN RESERVOIRS AND CANALS FELL TO PERILOUSLY LOW LEVELS. "THIS TIME, THE HEATWAVE BEGAN A BIT EARLY. IT IS VERY STRONG," SAID TAHIR ALI JAVED, HEALTH MINISTER FOR CENTRAL PUNJAB PROVINCE, WHERE 35 PEOPLE HAVE DIED FROM HEATSTROKE IN THE LAST WEEK ALONE. "THE DEATHS ARE TAKING PLACE AT MANY PLACES AND WE CAN'T GIVE YOU THE EXACT NUMBERS," HE WAS QUOTED AS SAYING BY REUTERS. TEMPERATURES OF 50 CELSIUS HAVE BEEN RECORDED IN JACOBABAD AND NAWABSHAH, TWO TOWNS IN SOUTHERN SIND PROVINCE, AND IN SIBBI IN SOUTHWESTERN BALUCHISTAN PROVINCE, WHERE SEVERAL DEATHS HAVE ALSO BEEN REPORTED.
