According to the officials of the Meteorological Centre of Tajikistan, in the last 30 years, only the summer of 2019 was similar to the current situation. But even then the warming was not like in June 2021. Back then, temperature of the air in Dushanbe was not below 40 degrees within 20 days from mid-July to August, which is typical for hot summers in the republic.

However, in June 1 to 11, 2021, according to the meteorological centre of Tajikistan, temperature of the air in the south of Tajikistan, namely districts of Qubodiyen and Shakhritus, reached +46 Celsius degrees. Air temperature in Dushanbe reached 42-43 Celsius degrees.

Dzhamilya Baidullaeva, chief of the meteorological centre, said that forecasters observe such a high temperature in early June in Tajikistan for the first time in 30 years. In previous years, temperature of the air at this time reached 40 degrees only in Aivadzh, the hottest location in the south of Tajikistan, and remained the same for one or two days.

According to the Emergency Committee of Tajikistan, some residents did not follow the safety instructions in hot weather, which led to the tragedy. According to the agency, five people drowned in the lakes and rivers of the country during hot days of June 5-6, 2021. Three of them were minors. A Tajikistan frontier guard drowned on the fourth of June in River Pandzhob in Khamadoni district. According to the Emergency Committee, 10 people drowned from June 1 to 15 this year in Tajikistan.

Press secretary of the health ministry of Tajikistan, Emomali Mirzoyev, said that the sudden temperature rise led to more people seeking medical help. More pneumonia cases are observed among children. According to him, the analysis held by the health ministry showed that children suffer more from drinking cold water, ice cream and swimming in swimming pools. However, the press secretary of the agency failed to provide relevant statistical data.

He also said that after the heat wave in early June people who had coronavirus last year started to visit medical facilities.

According to the experts of the Meteorological Centre of Tajikistan, the unprecedented heat wave is the result of climate change that is ongoing for several years.

According to the director of the centre, Dzhamilya Baidullaeva, their estimates show that by 2050 the temperature of the air in Tajikistan will rise by almost two degrees on the average.

The joint assessment by the authorities of Tajikistan and UN agencies reads that the temperature rise in recent years has caused natural disasters that cost millions of dollars to the economy of Tajikistan. The floods of May 11-12, 2021 damaged 14,500 households in Tajikistan.

However, according to the Emergency Committee of the government of Tajikistan, the number of natural disasters has reduced in 2020.

However, despite the unprecedented heat wave in Tajikistan, the working hours of state agencies, ministries and offices did not change. Our talks with some employees of housing and public utilities, who work mainly outdoors, showed that they worked as usually. Moreover, in hot weather in early June the students in Khudzhand took part in marching in their preparations to the meeting with the president of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev.