06/06/2026
The answer to the question "why Karachi feels like 10°-15°C hotter than its actual temperature" comes down to thermodynamics and materials science.
When a city is just concrete & asphalt, there is nothing to protect it from the heat, so the ground absorbs and re-emits the heat, increasing the felt temperature. Furthermore, wind deposits hot sand particles on everything, since there are no trees to slow down the wind and keep the sand where it is.
When there are trees, the sun doesn't reach the ground, making a blanket of cool air and humidity that remains close to the ground, as the hot air above the canopy tends to remain above it. This way, if Karachi had trees, we would be experiencing felt temperatures 10°-15°C cooler than the real temperature, instead of 10°-15°C hotter.