With mercury rising in various cities of Pakistan, unscheduled power cuts have added to the miseries of people across the ill-fated country. The water level at Tarbela and Mangla reservoirs has hit rock bottom, exacerbating the countrywide load shedding and taking the electricity shortfall further to 6, 600 megawatts (MW). During the last 24 hours, the total power generation was recorded at 11,161 MW against the demand of 17,761 MW. Hydropower generation in the country currently stands at 3,760 MW, WAPDA thermal power generation at 1,366 MW, while the independent power producers (IPPs) are generating 6,035 MW.
As many as 650 MW of electricity is being supplied to the Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC). People across the country are experience unscheduled power cuts of varying durations. Meanwhile, a new westerly heat wave is affecting the country’s western regions, and is likely to affect the upper parts of Pakistan in the next 2 days, the Meteorological Department of Pakistan has reported. According to the Met office, hot and dry weather is expected in most parts of the country, while isolated rains and dust storms are expected in the north-eastern areas of Balochistan such as Quetta, Zhob, Kalat and Sibbi divisions; in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Bannu, Dera Ismael Khan and Peshawar divisions; as well as in Dera Ghazi Khan and Larkana divisions during evening and night. Dusty winds are also likely to blow over Sindh, southern Punjab and Balochistan in the afternoon and evening. The maximum temperature recorded in Dadu, Moenjodaro and Larkana is 47C; in Padidan, Nawabshah, Turbat and Sukkur, 46C; in Jaccobabad, Rohri ,Sibbi and Chhor, 45C; in Bhakkar, Bahawalnagar, Rahimyar Khan, 44 C; and in Noorpur Thal, Multan, Kanpur and Mithi, 43C.
