LAHORE- There is no let-up in heat-related ailments as more and more gastro and diarrhea patients keep pouring in public sector hospitals, increasing burden on already overloaded health facilities. 
Unscheduled electricity outages, scarcity of necessary drugs and scorching heat continued to increase woes of hapless patients and their attendants as government turned a deaf ear to the public hue and cry.
As many as 538 gastro patients including women and children were brought to different hospitals in Lahore on Tuesday. So far, 1252 gastro patients, majority of them children, have approached various tertiary care hospitals in Lahore for treatment. The situation in other cities is no different where hospitals are treating hundreds of gastro, diarrhea and measles patients in addition to routine cases.
Like the last day, dust raising winds in plains and sporadic showers in Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir provided some respite to the people from hot weather in the evening after a hot day at noon on Tuesday.
Local meteorological department has forecast mainly hot and dry weather for most parts of the country on Wednesday. However isolated rain-thunderstorm associated with gusty winds is expected in Malakand, Hazara divisions and Gilgit-Baltistan.
According to the experts, seasonal low lies over central parts of the country. A shallow westerly trough is also prevailing over northern areas of the country.
On Tuesday, Dadu remained hottest place in the country where mercury rose as high as 48 degree Celsius. Maximum and minimum temperature in the City was recorded 42 C and 27 C respectively. Relative humidity in the evening was recorded 23 per cent.
The Lahorites avoided unnecessarily coming out, reducing traffic on otherwise busy roads at noon and in the afternoon. The Lahore Canal, as usual, attracted a large number of people including women and children at noon and in the afternoon. Not only youth but also elderly people were seen bathing in the canal. At certain places, even women were seen beating the heat by taking a dip in the mud coloured canal water.
The weather, however, turned pleasant in the evening due to windy conditions that caused the people including women and children to come out and approach various picnic spots in the City to enjoy short lived respite from the heat wave. Huge rush was witnessed at Bagh-e-Jinnah, Jilani Park, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Jallo Park, Lahore Zoo and other picnic spots in the City. Frequent traffic jams were also witnessed on roads in the close vicinity of these picnic spots.  On Tuesday, Muzaffarabad received 06 mm rain while 02 mm rain was recorded at