ISLAMABAD: Monsoon rains are expected to hit parts of Pakistan from June 26 till the beginning of July, the meteorological department said on Tuesday, offering much-needed relief during an ongoing heat wave.
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has issued a comprehensive monsoon forecast for July, highlighting the potential impact of rainfall across various regions of the country, which has been facing a severe heat wave since last month, with temperatures in some regions rising to above 50 degrees Celsius.
“Rains predicted in the country from June 26 to July 1,” the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said in a statement on Tuesday. “Monsoon currents from the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal likely to penetrate eastern parts of the country from June 26.”
The statement warned that heavy rains could cause flash floods in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Sialkot, Gujranwala and Narowal hilly areas of Kashmir from June 28-30.
Dust storms, windstorms and lightning can also affect daily routines and potentially cause damage to lose structures like electric poles, vehicles and solar panels during the period, the PMD said, advising all the concerned authorities to remain on alert and take precautionary measures.
In Pakistan’s southeastern province of Sindh, the PMD said rain and thundershowers with isolated heavy rainfall were expected in Mithi, Umarkot, Mirpur Khas, Sanghar, Tando Allahyar, Badin, Thatta, Karachi, Hyderabad, Jamshoro, Shaheed Benazirabad, Nausheroferoze, Khairpur, Dadu, Sukkur, Jacobabad, Kashmore and Larkana districts.
For the country’s Punjab province, the statement said Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Murree, Galliyat, Attock, Chakwal, Jhelum, Mandi Bahauddin, Gujrat, Gujranwala, Hafizabad, Wazirabad, Lahore, Sheikhupura, Sialkot, Narowal, Sahiwal, Jhang, Toba Tek Singh, Nankana Sahib, Chiniot, Faisalabad, Okara, Kasur, Khushab, Sargodha, Bhakkar and Mianwali would receive rainfall from June 27 onwards.
“Rain and thundershowers are expected in Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar, D.G. Khan, Multan, Khanewal, Lodhran, Muzaffargarh, Rajanpur, Rahimyar Khan and Layyah from June 26-30,” it added.
The statement said heavy rainfall was also expected in the Dir, Chitral, Swat, Kohistan, Malakand, Bajaur, Shangla, Battagram, Buner, Kohat, Bajaur, Mohmand, Khyber, Mansehra, Abbottabad, Haripur, Peshawar, Mardan, Hangu and Kurram districts of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province from June 28.
With regards to the country’s largest province Balochistan, the PMD said thundershowers were predicted in Lasbella, Khuzdar, Awaran, Jhal Magsi, Kalat, Naseerabad, Jaffarabad, Dera Bugti, Kohlu, Zhob and Barkhan districts from June 26-28.
In Gilgit-Baltistan, rain and thunderstorms were expected in Diamir, Astore, Ghizer, Skardu, Hunza, Gilgit, Ghanche and Shigar whereas Kashmir’s Neelum valley, Muzaffarabad, Rawalakot, Poonch, Hattian, Bagh, Haveli, Sudhanoti, Kotli, Bhimber, and Mirpur can also receive rainfall from June 28.
Pakistan is consistently ranked among the world’s worst-affected countries due to climate change. Unprecedented rainfall and the melting of glaciers triggered massive floods across the country in 2022, killing nearly 1,700 people and inflicting damages worth $3 billion. Scientists and experts attributed the floods to the adverse effects of climate change. Heat waves and droughts have also become common in Pakistan.
Monsoon rains expected in Pakistan from June 26, bringing relief amid heat wave
https://arab.news/wvjaf
Monsoon rains expected in Pakistan from June 26, bringing relief amid heat wave
- Meteorological department warns of flash floods in some parts of the country
- Pakistan has been in the grips of severe heat wave since last month
Pakistan’s PIA to resume London flights from Mar. 29 after six-year gap
- Newly privatized airline says will operate four weekly flights from Islamabad to London
- PIA is already operating three fllights per week to British city Manchester, says airline
ISLAMABAD: The newly privatized Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will operate direct flights to London starting Mar. 29, 2026, after six years, its spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday.
The PIA resumed its flight operations to the UK in October this year with its inaugural flight to Manchester. The airline is currently operating three weekly flights to the British city.
Britain lifted restrictions on Pakistani carriers in July, nearly half a decade after grounding them following a 2020 PIA Airbus A320 crash in Karachi that killed 97 people. The disaster was followed by claims of irregularities in pilot licensing, which led to bans in the US, UK and the European Union.
“Pakistan International Airlines has announced the expansion of its operations in the United Kingdom with the resumption of flights to London,” the airline’s spokesperson said in a statement.
“Starting Mar. 29, PIA will operate four weekly flights from Islamabad to London.”
The airline said that the London flights will be operated from Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 4, which it said is recognized as one of its most modern terminals.
“London was PIA’s very first international destination and remains one of its most important and attractive routes,” the spokesperson said.
Pakistan’s government succeeded in its frequent efforts to privatize the airline this month after a consortium, led by Arif Habib Group, on Dec. 23 secured a 75 percent stake in PIA for Rs135 billion ($482 million) after several rounds of bidding, valuing the airline at Rs180 billion ($643 million).
The sale marked Pakistan’s most aggressive attempt in decades to reform the debt-ridden national airline, which had accumulated more than $2.8 billion in financial losses. The government said it would end decades of state-funded bailouts and help revive the airline.
In an exclusive interview with Arab News this week, the airline’s new owner Arif Habib said he plans to renovate PIA planes, improve maintenance and flight schedule, and bring in new aircraft to revive the carrier.
Habib said he sees the region comprising the UK, the US and Canada as a “lucrative market” for the airline’s business.
“There we can increase the frequency of the flight,” he said. “We will also try to run flights to Canada from Karachi, Lahore, and I think it’s already in Islamabad.”
