ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said this week that rainfall in the upper and central parts of the country this week would likely cause the ongoing heatwave to subside.
The ongoing heatwave across Pakistan is expected to intensify this week, with temperatures in central and southern Pakistan likely to surge to 50°C this week, a report in American newspaper The Washington Post said on Wednesday.
Pakistanis have been sweltering from an ongoing heatwave that has troubled citizens in several parts of the country, especially its southern cities. Pakistan ranks among the top ten countries most vulnerable to climate change, grappling with increasingly frequent extreme weather events from deadly heatwaves to devastating floods. The 2015 heatwave claimed over 2,000 lives in Karachi alone while the 2022 floods left more than 1,700 dead and over 33 million displaced nationwide.
“Wind, thunderstorm (isolated hailstorm) predicted in upper/central parts from May 1-4, 2025,” the NDMA said in a weather advisory on Tuesday. “Heatwave conditions are likely to subside.”
It added that in Punjab and Islamabad, rainfall could trigger landslides in hilly areas, while hailstorms might damage infrastructure and vehicles.
“A westerly wave is likely to approach the upper parts of the country on April 30,” NDMA said. “Moist currents are likely to penetrate Northeast Punjab from May 1.”
The NDMA said that heavy downpours could cause urban flooding in low-lying areas of the southwestern and northwestern provinces of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, respectively, as well as in the Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan regions.
Warning of the possibility of hailstorms, the NDMA urged citizens to remain safe by seeking shelter, staying away from windows, covering vehicles and equipment and avoiding open fields and hilltops.
NDMA also advised people to exercise precautionary measures, especially tourists visiting mountainous areas.
In April, an intense hailstorm and heavy rainfall battered Pakistan’s capital and its surrounding areas, leaving several vehicles damaged and house windows smashed.
Footage on social media showed hailstones falling from the sky in Islamabad, with several residents posting videos of their car windscreens smashed and others sharing images of house windows damaged by the hail.
Pakistan says rainfall in upper, central parts this week likely to ease ongoing heatwave
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Pakistan says rainfall in upper, central parts this week likely to ease ongoing heatwave
- Pakistan’s southern cities have recorded high temperatures this week due to an ongoing heatwave across country
- Disaster management authority warns of thunderstorm, isolated hailstorm in upper/central parts of Pakistan
Pakistan air chief highlights modernization as PAF marks seven years since India aerial clash
- Swift Retort was launched in 2019 after India attempted airstrikes following a Kashmir suicide bombing
- Air chief’s remarks come amid fierce clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan over cross-border militancy
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s air chief said on Friday the country’s air force had undertaken “comprehensive modernization and indigenization” in recent years, as he addressed a ceremony at Air Headquarters to mark seven years since an aerial confrontation with India.
Operation Swift Retort was launched on Feb. 27, 2019, a day after India attempted airstrikes inside Pakistan following a suicide bombing in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed at least 40 Indian paramilitary troops.
Pakistan responded with aerial strikes across the Line of Control and shot down an Indian fighter jet in a subsequent dogfight, capturing one pilot who was later returned in what Islamabad called a gesture of de-escalation.
“PAF has pursued comprehensive modernization and indigenization to transition into a Next Generation Air Force,” Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu said, according to a statement circulated by the military’s media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations.
He added that the force had recalibrated its operational doctrine and rapidly inducted advanced combat and support capabilities, including indigenously developed unmanned systems, electronic warfare, space and cyber assets, establishing what he described as a “home-grown multi-domain kill chain.”
Sidhu said Pakistan remained committed to peace but would respond decisively to violations of its sovereignty.
“Pakistan is a responsible country which desires peace with honor,” he continued.
The remarks come amid renewed security tensions on Pakistan’s western frontier.
Islamabad earlier this week launched airstrikes inside Afghanistan targeting what it described as hideouts of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Daesh militants. Afghan authorities condemned the strikes and subsequently launched their own military response that led to fierce clashes between the two sides overnight.
Pakistan has frequently accused Kabul of allowing militant groups to use Afghan territory to carry out cross-border attacks on Pakistani civilians and security forces, an allegation denied by Afghan officials.
Pakistani authorities said earlier in the day small drones launched from the Afghan side were intercepted and brought down by the country’s air defense systems.
Sidhu said the PAF would continue to maintain a vigilant yet responsible defense posture to safeguard national sovereignty.
