The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has predicted thundershowers in the upper and central parts of the country as Pakistan deals with unprecedented floods that have left around one-sixth of its population homeless and claimed at least 1,200 lives.
In a statement on Saturday, the PMD said that a weather system from the Arabian Sea was penetrating the upper and central parts of the country.
“Rain-wind/thundershower (with isolated heavy falls) expected in Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Murree, Attock, Chakwal, Jhelum, Sialkot, Narowal, Lahore, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Sheikhupura, Mianwali, Khushab, Sargodha, Hafizabad, Mandi Bahauddin, Jhang and Faisalabad from Saturday (night) to Tuesday,” the Met office said.
In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, rain-wind/thundershowers, with isolated heavy falls, were expected in Dir, Swat, Kohistan, Mansehra, Abbottabad, Haripur, Malakand, Bajaur, Peshawar, Mardan, Charsadda, Swabi, Nowshera, Kurram, Kohat and Waziristan on Sunday and Monday, the PMD added.
The press release said that mainly hot and humid weather is expected in Sindh, Balochistan and south Punjab during next three to four days.
The record breaking rain and ensuing flood has affected all parts of the country, washing away houses, inundating fiels, destroying road network and even cutting off areas altogether. Visuals from the scenic Swat valley show landslides triggered by floods, with massive rocks hurtling down and destroying everything, including bridges, in its wake.
In the country’s south, parts of Balochistan and Sindh resemble lakes, with entire cities evacuated. Videos show people making a beeline for dry land with whatever belongings they could carry on their backs.
In the south, the PMD expects hot and humid weather for the next few days, providing some respite to those whose lives have been upended by the infrastructure-destroying monsoon.
But they are still not out of the water with a high flood of 560,000 cusecs to pass through Kotri Barrage on Saturday. The Kotri Barrage lies on the Indus River between Jamshoro and Hyderabad in Sindh. All the canals originating from the barrage have been closed for an unspecified period.
Meanwhile, the water level in Manchhar lake, the largest natural freshwater lake in Pakistan, is also on the rise.
