Pakistan received 243% above rains than average downpours in August, making the month the wettest since 1961, the Met Office climate summary said on Tuesday.

“August 2022 monthly rainfall alone exceeded the total normal monsoon seasonal rainfall by 37%,” it said as rain and thundershower were expected in upper parts of the country.

“It was excessively above average over Balochistan (+590%) & Sindh (+726%) with both ranked to have experienced wettest ever August, while, excessively above average over Gilgit-Baltistan, GB (+233%) ranking 2nd wettest August during past 62 years.”

Flash floods triggered by heavy rains pummeled Pakistan from north to south, with Sindh and Balochistan being the most affected provinces. The disaster, which according to the government is bigger than its resources, has killed 1,325 people since mid-June and damaged 1,688,005 houses.

The Pakistan Meteorological Department in its weather forecast had warned of urban flooding and flash floods, prompting the government to clear water drainage systems in urban areas.

“Monthly rainfall was above average over Punjab (+58%, ranked 10th), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), (+52%, ranked 4th) and nearly average over Azad Jammu & Kashmir (-3%),” it added.

The wettest day of the month in the country was August 19, when Padidan (Sindh) recorded 355.0mm of rainfall which also proved to be the wettest place with the highest monthly total of 1,228.5mm and stood as the heaviest day of rainfall and wettest ever in Sindh.

Read more: Interactive graph: Pakistan received 180% above normal rainfall till July 25

It said that number of rainy days was considerably higher than normal over the country, especially in Sindh and Balochistan.

The National Flood Response Coordination Centre, the nerve centre in coordinating the relief efforts, has called for taking a “new campaign” for rebuilding Pakistan and banning construction over rivers.

“This is a moment for us that we as a nation start a new campaign for Pakistan’s rebuilding. Let’s start a movement where we show a picture where future generations have not to suffer from such floods,” Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal had told the media.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had also raised similar concerns during a visit to Swat, where hotels were swept away in flash floods, in KP. He had used the term “man-made disaster” while speaking about the devastation in Swat. Videos of falling hotels were making rounds on social media.

Key points of report

• Heavy rains contributed to the ever-recorded August rainfall total, both monthly (21 location) and daily (13 locations) and for some sites over hundred years.
• The national mean monthly temperature of August 2022 s a whole was 28.66 °C, being 1.48°C cooler than the monthly average of 30.14 °C.
• Daytime (maximum) temperature at was 33.53 °C, being 2.4 °C cooler than the average of 35.93 °C.
• The nighttime (minimum) temperature was 23.82 °C, being 0.50 °C cooler than country-average of 24.32 °C.
• The hottest day of the month was at Nokkundi (Balochistan) when it recorded 45.5 °C temperature on 9th August 2022.
• Coldest temperature of 6.2 °C of the month was recorded at Kalam (KP) on 30th August 2022.
• The Indian Ocean Dipole remained generally in a neutral phase but inclined to a negative phase during the month.