This Pakistani CITY records world’s highest temperatures - know more

Jacobabad, a city in Pakistan's Sindh province, with a population of 200,000 is known for its scorching heat. The city is situated on the Tropic of Cancer, which means the sun is in close proximity during the summers. In the full summer blaze, the temperature in Jacobabad can soar up to 52°C (126 Fahrenheit). When the full midsummer heat hits Jacobabad, the city retreats inside as if sheltering from an attack.

Abdul Baqi, a shopkeeper told The Telegraph, “People do not come out of their houses and streets are mostly deserted when the temperature goes beyond 50°C. According to a resident, “You can’t even stay on your feet, it gets that hot.”

Most hospitals in the city report a flood of heatstroke cases from those whose livelihoods mean they must venture out. As per the leading daily, experts say that “with the mixture of heat and humidity the city has now officially surpassed the temperature threshold that the human body can withstand.”

Mr Matthews, a lecturer in climate science at Loughborough University, and his colleagues last year analysed global weather station data and found that Jacobabad and Ras al Khaimah, northeast of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, have both temporarily crossed the deadly threshold. 

To reach the conclusion, the researchers examined wet bulb temperatures. These are taken from a thermometer covered in a water-soaked cloth so they take into account both heat and humidity. Wet bulb thermometer readings are significantly lower than the more familiar dry bulb readings, which do not take humidity into account. Researchers say that at a wet bulb reading of 35C, the body can no longer cool itself by sweating and such a temperature can be fatal in a few hours, even to the fittest people.  

At 100% relative humidity, the wet-bulb temperature is equal to the air temperature, at lower humidity, the wet-bulb temperature is lower than dry-bulb temperature because of evaporative cooling.'

Jacobabad, which is also an agriculture hub crossed the 35 degrees Celsius wet bulb threshold in July 1987, then again in June 2005, June 2010 and July 2012. The dry bulb temperature is often over 50C in the summer. Researchers believed that wet-bulb reading of 35 degrees Celcius, can prove fatal even for the healthiest people as the body can no longer cool itself by sweating.

“People are aware that the heat is getting up and up, but they are poor people. They can't go anywhere; they can't leave their places. I myself have been thinking about shifting, but have never got around to it,” stated Zahid Hussain, a market trader to Telegraph.