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KARACHI, Pakistan — Wind from the sea and pre-monsoon rains cooled southern Pakistan on Wednesday, likely marking the end of a scorching heat wave that killed at least 749 people, authorities said.

Temperatures in hard-hit Karachi dropped to 34 degrees Celsius, meteorologist Abdur Rasheed said. Hospital officials said admittances had dropped compared to previous days, when dehydrated patients lay in corridors and outside of clinics.

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The port city has been in the grip of a heat wave called the worst in at least a decade, with temperatures reaching 45 degrees Celsius.

Hours-long power outages, little running water and the majority of people fasting for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan had worsened the situation.

Karachi, home to some 20 million people, suffers under an inefficient power grid and a shortage of potable water. The power outages also affected the sporadic water supply in Karachi, where those who can afford it rely on tankers of water being delivered to their homes.