Monsoon rains expected in Pakistan from June 26, bringing relief amid heat wave

A street vendor carries umbrellas as he waits for customers along a road during a rain shower in Lahore on January 19, 2022. (AFP/File)

• Meteorological department warns of flash floods in some parts of the country 
• Pakistan has been in the grips of severe heat wave since last month

ISLAMABAD: Monsoon rains are expected to hit parts of Pakistan from June 26 till the beginning of July, the meteorological department said on Tuesday, offering much-needed relief during an ongoing heat wave.
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has issued a comprehensive monsoon forecast for July, highlighting the potential impact of rainfall across various regions of the country, which has been facing a severe heat wave since last month, with temperatures in some regions rising to above 50 degrees Celsius. 
“Rains predicted in the country from June 26 to July 1,” the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said in a statement on Tuesday. “Monsoon currents from the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal likely to penetrate eastern parts of the country from June 26.”
The statement warned that heavy rains could cause flash floods in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Sialkot, Gujranwala and Narowal hilly areas of Kashmir from June 28-30. 
Dust storms, windstorms and lightning can also affect daily routines and potentially cause damage to lose structures like electric poles, vehicles and solar panels during the period, the PMD said, advising all the concerned authorities to remain on alert and take precautionary measures.
In Pakistan’s southeastern province of Sindh, the PMD said rain and thundershowers with isolated heavy rainfall were expected in Mithi, Umarkot, Mirpur Khas, Sanghar, Tando Allahyar, Badin, Thatta, Karachi, Hyderabad, Jamshoro, Shaheed Benazirabad, Nausheroferoze, Khairpur, Dadu, Sukkur, Jacobabad, Kashmore and Larkana districts.
For the country’s Punjab province, the statement said Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Murree, Galliyat, Attock, Chakwal, Jhelum, Mandi Bahauddin, Gujrat, Gujranwala, Hafizabad, Wazirabad, Lahore, Sheikhupura, Sialkot, Narowal, Sahiwal, Jhang, Toba Tek Singh, Nankana Sahib, Chiniot, Faisalabad, Okara, Kasur, Khushab, Sargodha, Bhakkar and Mianwali would receive rainfall from June 27 onwards.
“Rain and thundershowers are expected in Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar, D.G. Khan, Multan, Khanewal, Lodhran, Muzaffargarh, Rajanpur, Rahimyar Khan and Layyah from June 26-30,” it added.
The statement said heavy rainfall was also expected in the Dir, Chitral, Swat, Kohistan, Malakand, Bajaur, Shangla, Battagram, Buner, Kohat, Bajaur, Mohmand, Khyber, Mansehra, Abbottabad, Haripur, Peshawar, Mardan, Hangu and Kurram districts of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province from June 28.
With regards to the country’s largest province Balochistan, the PMD said thundershowers were predicted in Lasbella, Khuzdar, Awaran, Jhal Magsi, Kalat, Naseerabad, Jaffarabad, Dera Bugti, Kohlu, Zhob and Barkhan districts from June 26-28.
In Gilgit-Baltistan, rain and thunderstorms were expected in Diamir, Astore, Ghizer, Skardu, Hunza, Gilgit, Ghanche and Shigar whereas Kashmir’s Neelum valley, Muzaffarabad, Rawalakot, Poonch, Hattian, Bagh, Haveli, Sudhanoti, Kotli, Bhimber, and Mirpur can also receive rainfall from June 28.
Pakistan is consistently ranked among the world’s worst-affected countries due to climate change. Unprecedented rainfall and the melting of glaciers triggered massive floods across the country in 2022, killing nearly 1,700 people and inflicting damages worth $3 billion. Scientists and experts attributed the floods to the adverse effects of climate change. Heat waves and droughts have also become common in Pakistan.