Karachi, Nov. 27 -- Karachi has been identified as one of the Asia-Pacific's nine most densely built megacities highly vulnerable to extreme heat, with temperatures projected to climb sharply in the coming decades, according to a major UN assessment released on Wednesday.
The report - Asia-Pacific Disaster Report 2025: Rising Heat, Rising Risk - published by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP), highlights how urban centres such as Seoul, Tokyo, Beijing, Delhi, Karachi, Dhaka, Manila, Jakarta and Phnom Penh are already grappling with dangerous levels of heat due to the urban heat island (UHI) effect. Dense construction, concrete surfaces and scarce vegetation trap heat and push temperatures several degr...