Families in Nasirabad, Balochistan, are relying on blocks of ice, shared solar-powered refrigerators and outdoor sleeping to cope with extreme heat. The Pakistan Meteorological Department warned in May 2026 that the Turbat area could reach 46C to 50C, while electricity in the town is available for about three hours a day and is often too weak to run a fridge reliably.
The burden falls hardest on people who cannot afford solar panels, batteries or regular ice. Each morning, residents queue at the town’s only ice factory, where all 400 blocks made overnight are usually sold within two hours.
Ice has become an essential household supply
Mohammad Haider, who owns Nasirabad’s ice factory, says almost all of the ice is used to cool drinking water. The factory opens at about 7am, but some residents leave without buying any. Ice bought for 40 Pakistani rupees can later be resold for 80 rupees, he says.
Taimoor, 12, collects ice before school for his family and carries a small portion in a plastic container to cool himself on the journey. His pregnant mother says she is afraid that walking to the factory and carrying ice in the heat could endanger her pregnancy after two miscarriages.
Related coverage: Sea temperatures reached a July record during Europe’s extreme heat.
Limited electricity divides access to cooling
Nasirabad is about 25 miles (40km) from Turbat in Kech district. Most residents live in mud-built houses. Families who can afford solar panels use them to power fans and sometimes refrigerators during daylight, but many cannot afford batteries to store the electricity for later.
Raj Bibi, a 66-year-old widow, cannot afford ice or a solar system. She carries bottles of water to a neighbour’s solar-powered refrigerator each morning and returns in the evening to collect them. Other households carry bedding outside and sleep beneath the open sky.
Heat warnings meet limited choices
The Pakistan Meteorological Department forecast very hot and dry conditions across Balochistan in August. Its May guidance advised people to avoid unnecessary sun exposure, stay hydrated and use water carefully, and urged farmers to adjust activities and protect livestock.
More context: UK records its hottest day as Europe faces extreme heat.
Those precautions are difficult to follow when daily survival depends on outdoor work or household tasks. Taimoor must walk to collect ice, Bibi must fetch cooled water, farmers must tend orchards and women must cook over fires. Pakistan has national heatwave guidance and Balochistan’s Provincial Disaster Management Authority has a district plan for Kech, but residents in Nasirabad say they see little protection on the ground.
No comments yet. Start the discussion.