Pakistan Weather News / Updates

[ghazi52]

 

[ghazi52]

51 degrees and counting: Surviving heat in Jacobabad​

Pakistan's heat future is already here.

Soha Macktoom Muhammed Toheed
June 22, 2026



Three days without electricity. A fan barely larger than a dinner plate. A daughter tracking the movement of the sun across a courtyard so that the solar panel powering it does not lose charge. This is how Shabana, 42, survives June 2026 in Jacobabad.

On the afternoon we met her, the heat index touched 51°C​

“It used to be hot before as well,” she says. “But electricity did not disappear this often, and water was always available. There has been no electricity at my house for the last three days. It is very hot. We feel very hot. But what can we do? Mujhe tou lagta he me garmi ki wajah se sookh gayi hoon (I feel as though I have dried up because of the heat).”



The Pakistan Meteorological Department has once again warned of intense heatwave conditions across Sindh. Yet for Jacobabad, often described as one of the hottest places on Earth, extreme heat is not an exceptional event. It is a lived reality. What is changing, however, is the intensity of that reality and the growing cost of surviving it.

As part of ongoing fieldwork under the project “Reducing Global Catastrophic Risk from Unseen Climate Extremes”, conducted jointly by the Karachi Urban Lab-IBA and the King’s College London, we have spent time speaking to residents across Jacobabad’s informal settlements, and its surrounding villages. Their stories reveal something that temperature records alone cannot capture: the struggle against heat is no longer simply about discomfort. It is increasingly about survival.

The conversation in Jacobabad has already moved beyond questions of liveability. It is becoming a question of survivability.

Prolonged exposures to heat can be deadly — regardless of fitness, levels of hydration, or access to fans. Yet, the precise risks to the body, and its organs are not well understood, while the potential societal impacts are completely unknown.

A city with a population of 219,315 (PBS, 2023), heat is a part of the lived reality of residents in Jacobabad. However, for many residents, heat itself is not the only threat. Heat combined with failing infrastructure, prolonged power outages, water insecurity and deepening poverty creates a far more dangerous reality.

Across neighbourhoods in Jacobabad, residents reported enduring between 14 and 16 hours of daily load-shedding. In some peripheral settlements, households remain disconnected from the electricity grid altogether. For these communities, even a ceiling fan represents a luxury.

 

[ghazi52]

NDMA issues nationwide severe weather alert​

Our Correspondent
June 22, 2026

ISLAMABAD: The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Sunday issued a nationwide weather alert, warning that thunderstorms, strong winds, heavy rainfall, urban flooding, and glacier-related flood risks could affect several parts of Pakistan over the next 12 to 24 hours, with vulnerable mountainous regions facing an elevated threat of flash floods, landslides, and Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs).

According to the National Emergencies Operation Centre (NEOC), the forecast weather pattern is consistent with the seasonal outlook issued three to four months ago.

The NDMA said it has been continuously providing advance warnings and risk assessments to relevant federal, provincial, and district authorities.

 

[ghazi52]

PMD issues Glof alert for GB, KP amid soaring temperatures​

News Desk
June 27, 2026

A view of Badsuwat area of Ishkoman Valley of the Ghizer District in Gilgit-Baltistan after being hit by the glacial lake outburst flood. — Dawn

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has issued an alert for glacial lake outburst floods (Glofs) for Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, predicting that soaring temperatures are likely to persist until the first week of July.

“This significant warming will substantially accelerate snow and ice melt in the glaciated valleys of these regions,” the Met Office said in the alert issued late on Friday.

It said that consequently, the water level in the river streams was likely to remain high, existing glacial lakes may rapidly expand with an increase in their water levels, and new glacial lakes were likely to form due to the high volume of melted water.

Meanwhile, vulnerable downstream locations and low-lying areas adjacent to riverbeds may face a high risk of sudden inundation with chances of flash flooding in vulnerable locations, it added.

The Met Office further said that the rapid expansion of glacial lakes could destabilise their natural ice or moraine dams, potentially triggering Glof incidents.

The weather conditions can trigger heavy mud and debris flows down mountain slopes, with an increase in the likelihood of landslides in steep terrains, the PMD said.

It advised residents and visitors: to stay away from riverbanks, stream beds, and local nullahs; to refrain from camping, trekking, or staying near riverbanks, streams, glacial lakes and narrow mountain valleys; and avoid steep slopes and unstable terrain where melting snow could trigger landslides or debris flows.

 

[ghazi52]

Three injured as 5.2-magnitude quake jolts Balochistan's Barkhan, surrounding areas​

Epicentre was located 58 kilometres northeast of Barkhan, with tremors felt also in Kohlu, Rakhni and Musa Khel areas

Sardar Hameed Khan
June 27, 2026

Photo: Express

QUETTA: Three people were injured on Saturday as earthquake tremors were felt in Balochistan's Barkhan district and adjoining areas, spreading fear and panic among residents.

According to the National Seismic Monitoring Centre, the earthquake measured 5.2 in magnitude and occurred at a depth of 19 kilometres. Its epicentre was located 58 kilometres northeast of Barkhan, with tremors felt also in Kohlu, Rakhni and Musa Khel areas.

 

[ghazi52]

Met Office forecasts nationwide monsoon rains, warns of flash floods​

• Currents from Bay of Bengal expected to reach upper regions by July 2

June 29, 2026

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has issued a nationwide alert, predicting the onset of the monsoon season during the first week of July 2026.

A weather system, driven by a westerly wave entering the country’s upper regions on the night of June 30, is expected to bring widespread rain, windstorms, and thundershowers, the Met Office said.

According to the PMD, moisture-laden currents from the Arabian Sea are currently penetrating the eastern and central parts of the country, while similar currents from the Bay of Bengal are expected to reach the upper regions by July 2.

This weather system is projected to significantly subside the prevailing hot and humid conditions nationwide.

 

[ghazi52]

Scattered rain, windstorms, and thundershowers, with isolated heavy falls, are expected in Kashmir from July 1 to 6. Similarly, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will experience thundershowers from July 1 to July 5 in districts including Dir, Swat, Peshawar, Kohat, and Bannu, among others.

The northern and central districts of Punjab, including Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, and Sialkot, are forecast to receive rain from July 1 to July 6. Southern districts, including Bahawalpur, D.G. Khan, and Multan, are expected to see intermittent rainfall from July 3 to July 5.

Rain and thundershowers are predicted for Gilgit-Baltistan from July 1 to July 5. In Balochistan, the north and northeastern regions, including Zhob, Sibbi, and Naseerabad, are likely to receive precipitation from July 1 to July 4.

Northern Sindh districts, including Sukkur, Larkana, Dadu, and Jacobabad, are expected to experience windstorms and thundershowers on July 3 and 4.

The PMD has highlighted several critical risks associated with this weather system. Windstorms and lightning may damage weak infrastructure, including solar panels, billboards, and electric poles.

 

[Blueishere]

Interesting video, applies to Pakistan aswell. Not necessarily about weather, but how Urban planning can be used to tackle it and the disproportionate weather for elites in South Asian cities at large.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

 

[ghazi52]

Melting mountains and returning floods — Swat’s climate emergency​

Fazal Khaliq
June 30, 2026







SWAT: On June 27, authorities issued a Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (Glof) alert for the northern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including Swat, warning that soaring temperatures were expected to accelerate snow and glacier melt across mountain valleys and increase the risk of flash flooding, landslides and sudden inundation downstream.

Authorities urged monitoring of vulnerable sites, evacuation preparedness and public awareness in communities living along rivers and streams.

For the residents of Swat, however, the warning did not sound theoretical.

It reopened memories of a crisis that has unfolded over more than a decade, one measured not only in damaged roads and collapsed bridges, but also in disrupted identities, broken landscapes and communities learning to live with uncertainty.

The Swat River has always been dynamic. Its channels shift, widen and reclaim floodplains during periods of high discharge. Yet in recent years, changing climate patterns combined with expanding development have altered the relationship between people and the river.

Satellite-based information published through Space4Climate, powered by the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco), has highlighted how urban expansion into active floodplains at Bahrain increased exposure to flood damage.

Comparative imagery published for 2010–2022 shows substantial construction along sections of the river corridor, narrowing natural water pathways before the destructive floods of August 2022.

 

[ghazi52]

According to the Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT), the country has faced 89 flood events in the last 25 years, with impacts becoming more severe due to increasing urban expansion and development within active riverbeds and floodplains.

Using satellite-based monitoring, Suparco provides continuous assessments of river behaviour and surrounding land use, supporting informed decision-making for flood risk reduction and climate-resilient development.

Normal river water as of May 2022 appears light blue in this satellite image of River Swat and its tributary. — via Space4ClimateRiver water during the August 2022 floods appears muddy in the channels in this satellite image of River Swat and its tributary. The image highlights the risks to the settlements (outlined in yellow). — via Space4Climate

The implication extends beyond one town: climate hazards become more destructive when natural river systems lose space to absorb extreme flows.

Long before flood damage became international news, communities in Upper Swat had already begun documenting change. From Gabral to Mankiyal, from Matiltan to Daral, repeated floods and climate-linked extremes since around 2010 have reshaped everyday life.

Yet physical destruction tells only part of the story.