Key points
- Two major weather systems are merging towards Pakistan’s capital: NDMA
- NDMA urges provincial, district authorities to ensure emergency preparedness
- Citizens are advised to avoid unnecessary travel
ISLAMABAD: The National Emergencies Operations Centre (NEOC) has warned that five separate weather systems are likely to trigger thunderstorms, strong winds, hailstorms, and heavy downpours across various parts of the country, with Islamabad and Rawalpindi facing particularly severe conditions.
Pakistan state-run news agency, APP reported that the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) urges all provincial and district authorities to ensure emergency preparedness, remain vigilant, and coordinate with local response units for timely action.
Evolving situation
The Authority will continue to monitor the evolving situation and provide timely updates. The NDMA has issued a public advisory urging caution amid the current severe weather conditions, APP reported.
Citizens are advised to avoid unnecessary travel, particularly in hilly and flood-prone areas, secure weak structures, trees, power lines, and solar panels, and park vehicles in safe, covered locations.
Farmers should take precautions to protect standing crops from potential hailstorms and gusty winds. Travelers and tourists are advised to exercise vigilance during outdoor and mountain excursions.
For real-time weather updates, NDMA recommends using the “Pak NDMA Disaster Alert” App.
Heavy rain
According to NEOC, two major weather systems are merging towards the twin cities, where wind gusts and intense rainfall are likely between 6 pm to 11 pm today. Scattered hailstorms, windstorms, and heavy rain are also anticipated in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, North Punjab, and South Eastern Punjab, APP reported.
In Southern Punjab, a slow-moving system is active over the Rohi area of Rahim Yar Khan. This system is gradually extending towards Rahim Yar Khan city, Sadiqabad, and Minthar, bringing light to moderate rainfall.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, an active weather system stretches from Peshawar to Parachinar, featuring thunderstorms, gusty winds, and heavy rain. This system is expected to affect Peshawar, Darra Adam Khel, and surrounding areas. Azad Jammu and Kashmir is also under the influence of an active weather system extending from Muzaffarabad into the Neelum Valley, bringing rainfall and potential storm activity.
Monsoon season in South Asia
Earlier, APP cited Director General of the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), Mahr Sahibzad Khan as indicating possibility of normal to slightly above-normal rainfall in central and southern regions in the upcoming monsoon season while northern areas are expected to receive comparatively less precipitation.
During a media briefing about the upcoming monsoon season, Sahibzad Khan stated that central to southern parts of the country are likely to witness normal to slightly above-normal rainfall, with the highest deviations expected in northeastern Punjab and Kashmir.
Earlier, AFP reported that lashing rains swamped India’s financial capital Mumbai on Monday as the annual monsoon arrived some two weeks earlier than usual, according to weather forecasters.
Heavy rains cooling temperatures — welcomed by farmers for their crops but which cause havoc each year in cities by flooding transport infrastructure — are normally expected in the southwestern state of Maharashtra in early June.
Weather patterns
South Asia is getting hotter and in recent years has seen shifting weather patterns, but scientists are unclear on how exactly a warming planet is affecting the highly complex monsoon, AFP reported.
The southwest monsoon is a colossal sea breeze that brings South Asia 70-80 percent of its annual rainfall between June and September every year.
The monsoon is vital for agriculture and therefore for the livelihoods of millions of farmers and for food security. But it brings destruction every year in landslides and floods, AFP reported.
