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Air: Living in One of the Hottest Cities on Earth

61 images Created 11 Jan 2021

What It’s Like Living in One of the Hottest Cities on Earth

The city of Jacobabad in Pakistan may well be the hottest city in Pakistan, in Asia and possibly in the world. What is it like to live in a city where temperature regularly rise above 50C (122F)?

"It’s just after 7 in the morning in the Pakistani city of Jacobabad, and donkey-cart driver Ahsan Khosoo is already drenched in sweat. For the past two hours, the 24-year-old laborer has been hauling jugs of drinking water to local residences. When the water invariably spills from the blue jerricans, it hits the pavement with an audible hiss and turns to steam. It’s hot, he agrees, but that’s not an excuse to stop. The heat will only increase as the day wears on, and what choice does he have? “Even if it were so hot as if the land were on fire, we would keep working.” He pauses to douse his head with a bucket of water.


Jacobabad may well be the hottest city in Pakistan, in Asia and possibly in the world. Khosoo shakes his head in resignation. “Climate change. It’s the problem of our area. Gradually the temperatures are rising, and next year it will increase even more.”


The week before I arrived in Jacobabad, the city had reached a scorching 51.1°C (124°F). Similar temperatures in Sahiwal, in a neighboring province, combined with a power outage, had killed eight babies in a hospital ICU when the air-conditioning cut out. Summer in Sindh province is no joke. People die.

"

Full story and text ©Aryn Baker, with Images by ©Matthieu Paley : https://time.com/longform/jacobabad-extreme-heat/
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  • A donkey cart loaded with ice packs leaves an ice factory to sell ice throughout town. With regular rolling blackouts, failure, one way of cooling water is to simply use ice. An average day, it is 48 degrees C (119 F).
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  • In an field near the Indus River, a farmer checks on his wheat stack. The wheat pile is covered with a thin layer of dry mud to protect it from heat and drying. <br />
On the road going from Karachi to Jacobabad.
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  • Under extreme heat, buffaloes spend most of the day in water. On the road going from Karachi to Jacobabad.
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  • Rice depot workers takes a break on the floor during the heat of the day.
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  • The city comes alive at night. A boy waits for customers to play pool. In the city of Jacobabad.
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  • On the outskirt of town, men return from the Jacobabad market after purchasing a large fan.
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  • A car mechanic takes an impromptu shower in the middle of the day.
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  • Policeman named Imam Bux regulates traffic under 50 degrees heat. He gets paid 20.000 Rupees, 125 USD per month.
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  • Brick makers fill up a bag from sand in 52 degrees heat.
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  • Brother and sister have a drink of water  during an evening outing at the train station.
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  • A patient gets water at a mental asylum in Hyderabad city.
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  • Madan Ali carries his Charpai, a traditionnal woven bed, to a cold area for the night. In the city of Sehwan Sharif
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  • A dog comes out at night in an empoverished part of town.
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  • One of the many roadside shop selling Thadel. Thadel is a known a cooling drink. The main ingredient is almonds juice, but it contains many various spices. On the outskirt of Jacobabad.
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  • Passersbys get free beverages from the police force: cold water mixed with lemon, sugar syrup and some salt, good for rehydratation. Police officers shout out "Kill the heat" to attract passersby.
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  • Weightlifters at the fitness center that doesn't have air conditioning. It is 45 degrees C.
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  • At the fitness center, without air conditioning. In the city of Jacobabad.
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  • At the fitness center, without air conditioning. In the city of Jacobabad.
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  • Khan Lala has a household repair shop on the main road. He says that during heat season, the Air conditioning repair demands increases dramatically "the heat is too strong for the compressor".
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  • The city comes alive at night, all restaurants are outdoor.
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  • An old fan. In the city of Jacobabad.
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  • A worker moves an ice lifting tool inside an old British ear ice factory.
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  • Portrait of man whose hairs have been dyed with henna. In the city of Jacobabad.
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  • During a rolling black out, Seraj Udin,  hotel owner takes a break in his hotel, the Greenland Hotel.
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  • Curtains are closed in most restaurants and hotels during the day, to preserve from the heat. A hotel room in Sehwan Sharif
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  • Akhtar Ali takes a impromptu shower at a water tank. He sells potable water across the city from his donkey cart
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  • Detail portrait of hotel staff, in 40 degrees C. In the city of Jacobabad.
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  • In an empoverished part of town, Himmat Ali relaxes on his charpoi, a traditionnal woven bed. It is 48 degrees C.
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  • Slash and burn agriculture. On the outskirt of Jacobabad.
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  • Slash and burn agriculture. On the outskirt of Jacobabad.
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  • A police man takes a break from distributing free water in the main street.
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  • A pilgrim takes a bath with his clothes on near the shrine of a Sufi saint in Sehwan Sharif.
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  • Wahid Murat, a patron at a restaurant looks at his phone during an electricity power failure.
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  • Napkins used to wipe off sweat at a restaurant. In the city of Jacobabad.
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  • A shirt full of sweat from a man returning home after work.
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  • A man does his evening prayer in the city center. In the city of Jacobabad.
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  • Evening activities: a girl brings back groceries, a boy on a bicycle and father and son returning on a motorcycle. In the city of Jacobabad.
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  • Portrait of a musician.
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  • A "malang", devotee weighing himself down with chains to walk in the heat. In the city of Sehwan Sharif
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  • A "malang", devotee weighing himself down with chains to walk in the heat. In the city of Sehwan Sharif
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  • A "malang", devotee weighing himself down with chains to walk in the heat. In the city of Sehwan Sharif
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  • A "malang", devotee weighing himself down with chains to walk in the heat. In the city of Sehwan Sharif
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  • Outskirts of Jacobabad city. It is 52 degrees C.
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  • View of the Sindh plains on  the outskirt of Jacobabad.
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  • Rice depot workers. In the city of Jacobabad.
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  • Brick makers take a break from work in 52 degrees heat.
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  • Cars are protected from the heat with blankets.
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  • Street of the main bazaar in Jacobabad.
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  • A boy carries a white shirt out of the dry cleaner. The traditional Pakistani Shalwar Kamiz is a large breathable outfit made to breath to bare the heat.
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  • Beds are lined up for sleeping on the roof. Because of the extreme heat and lack of electricity, people sleep outside.
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  • Visiting hospital, many patients are treated for heat exhaustion.
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  • Visiting hospital, many patients are treated for heat exhaustion.
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  • A boy stands at a desk under the gaze of Jinnah.
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  • Sakir Ali is a clerk at a gas station. He often takes break to drink water.
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  • Sakir Ali is a clerk at a gas station. He sits in the shade waiting for a client, it is 47 degrees C.
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  • Dust settles on plastic flowers outside a hotel.
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  • A solar panel cube used to pump water lies next to the road.
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  • Khan Mohammed Baluch, an employee of a car wash is drenched in water.
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  • A man sells sunglasses in the street.
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  • A boy plays cricket in 40 degrees heat.
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  • People from the Mohana tribe use to live on the Manchar lake. But now there are no fish due to climate change and pollution. In the city of Sehwan Sharif
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