No end to sweating as humidity increases

Mohammad Saleem

It has been steaming hot for the last few days. With humidity level quite high and the sun blazing, the conditions are unbearable for people, especially those who have to go out for work.

Resultantly, sweat is streaming down from head to toe and there seems to be no escape from this oppressing hot and humid weather. In the absence of breeze, the conditions are rather painful and the smell of foliage mixed with fumes emanating from the wet soil has become unbearable for people. Sweat pouring out of each and every pore in the body, leaves one immensely exhausted, agitated and short-tampered.

Men suffer the most as they have to go out every day to earn livelihood. Sandwiched between the rising inflation and poverty, it is the common man who fall victim to hostile weather conditions.

Mohammad Rizwan, a shopkeeper at Faizabad, observed that the planting of saplings in the city could decrease the impact of heat. But who will do so as there is hardly any commission involved in this exercise, he commented.

"Just plantation will not help; it is also the provision of tap water at roadsides that can lessen people's miseries during the hot and humid monsoon season. There is no roadside tap water available for commuters braving the oppressive heat in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. People will not die of dehydration, if tap water is available at roadsides. They might get sunburn or heatstroke but they would not die," said Ajmal Riaz, a commuter travelling in a Route 105 wagon.

The roadside fast-food outlets that sell burgers, pizzas, ‘biryani,’ sandwiches and drinks should be checked regularly. These outlets are not only serving and cooking food in unhygienic conditions but have also encroached upon roads and footpaths in front of them. Several of them have their pans and stoves outdoors. The food being cooked at such arrangements gets polluted by dust and smoke of passing automobiles.

There is also a need to check hygienic conditions of the famous restaurants and dining halls to avert the possible spread of infectious diseases like gastroenteritis during the ongoing monsoon season.

When checked by this scribe, a ‘naanbai,’ who was soaked with sweat from head to toe, was baking ‘rotis’ in Blue Area. He would occasionally scratch his body parts to get rid of the streaming sweat.

Industrialisation, urbanisation and changing lifestyles have also been contributing to the rising temperatures. Chimneys discharge smoke and air-conditioning fumes that have become almost part of daily life for keeping indoors cool is blowing hot air outside. Sunrays, on the other hand, falling directly on earth due to depleting forest cover, are making the earth hotter day by day.

The hot and sultry weather continues to disrupt routine life in the twin cities. The high-level of humidity, about 60 per cent, has been causing suffocation and massive sweating to the people. The vehicular traffic on roads and rush of people in markets has reduced significantly.