Pakistan braces for heavy rains, flood and landslide warnings issued

Several parts of Pakistan are expected to experience heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms on Tuesday, prompting the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) to issue warnings for potential urban flooding, flash floods, and landslides in vulnerable regions.

The PMD forecasts rain with gusty winds and thunderstorms across Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Islamabad, upper and central Punjab, and northeastern Balochistan. The weather department cautioned that isolated areas could receive particularly heavy to very heavy rainfall.

Low-lying areas in cities such as Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Multan, Lahore, and Gujranwala are at risk of inundation. The PMD also warned of flash floods in local streams and nullahs throughout Kashmir, Murree, Galiyat, northeastern Punjab, Islamabad, the Potohar region, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and the hill torrents of Dera Ghazi Khan.

Landslides are a concern in the hilly regions of Upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including areas like Dir, Swat, and Mansehra, as well as in Murree, Galiyat, and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Meanwhile, southern Pakistan, including most districts of Sindh and Balochistan, will continue to experience hot and humid weather, though isolated rain and thunderstorms are possible in specific districts.

In the preceding 24 hours, scattered rain and thunderstorms were recorded in parts of Punjab, upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Kashmir. Faisalabad recorded the highest rainfall at 77 millimeters, followed by Sialkot city with 73mm. The highest temperature recorded nationwide on Monday was 45 degrees Celsius in Dalbandin.