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 drops 8,000 MW power procurement, claims $17 billion savings amid IMF-driven reforms
- Government says decision taken “on merit” as it seeks to cut losses, circular debt, ease consumer pressure
- Power minister says losses fell from $2.1 billion to $1.4 billion, circular debt dropped by $2.8 billion
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has abandoned plans to procure around 8,000 megawatts of expensive electricity, the power minister said on Sunday, adding that the decision was taken “purely on merit” and would save about $17 billion.
The power sector has long been a major source of Pakistan’s fiscal stress, driven by surplus generation capacity, costly contracts and mounting circular debt. Reforming electricity pricing, reducing losses and limiting new liabilities are central conditions under an ongoing $7 billion IMF program approved in 2024.
Pakistan has historically contracted more power generation than it consumes, forcing the government to make large capacity payments even for unused electricity. These obligations have contributed to rising tariffs, budgetary pressure and repeated IMF bailouts over the past two decades.
“The government has abandoned the procurement of around 8000 megawatts of expensive electricity purely on merit, which will likely to save 17 billion dollars,” Power Minister Sardar Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari said while addressing a news conference in Islamabad, according to state broadcaster Radio Pakistan.
He said the federal government was also absorbing losses incurred by power distribution companies rather than passing them on to consumers.
The minister said the government’s reform drive was already showing results, with losses reduced from Rs586 billion ($2.1 billion) to Rs393 billion ($1.4 billion), while circular debt declined by Rs780 billion ($2.8 billion) last year. Recoveries, he added, had improved by Rs183 billion ($660 million).
Leghari said electricity tariffs had been reduced by 20 percent at the national level over the past two years and expressed confidence that prices would be aligned with international levels within the next 18 months.
Power sector reform has been one of the most politically sensitive elements of Pakistan’s IMF-backed adjustment program, with higher tariffs and tighter enforcement weighing on households and industry. The government says cutting losses, improving recoveries and avoiding costly new capacity are essential to stabilizing public finances and restoring investor confidence.
