Biggest supermoon of 2025 to light up skies in Pakistan tonight, says space agency

Screengrab taken from a video shared by Reuters on October 7, 2025, showing a man taking a picture of “Harvest Supermoon” in Karachi, Pakistan.
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Updated 05 November 2025
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Biggest supermoon of 2025 to light up skies in Pakistan tonight, says space agency

  • Beaver Supermoon to appear 7.9 percent larger, 16 percent brighter as it reaches its closest point to Earth
  • SUPARCO says event marks the second in a trio of consecutive supermoons visible worldwide

ISLAMABAD: The biggest and brightest supermoon of 2025 will illuminate skies across the world, including Pakistan, today, Wednesday, said the country’s space agency, calling it a rare celestial alignment when the full Moon comes closest to Earth in its orbit.

According to the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO), the so-called Beaver Supermoon will reach peak illumination at 6:18 p.m. in Pakistan.

“At its nearest point, the Moon will be 356,980 km (221,817 miles) from Earth, making it 7.9 percent larger and 16 percent brighter than a typical full Moon,” the space agency said. “It is the second in a trio of consecutive supermoons (October, November, December 2025) and will be visible worldwide ... offering a breathtaking view.”

SUPARCO explained that a supermoon occurs when a full Moon coincides with its perigee, the point at which it is closest to Earth in its elliptical orbit, causing it to appear unusually large and bright.

Supermoons typically occur three to four times a year, though exceptionally close alignments between Earth and the Moon are uncommon.

This year’s sequence of supermoons is among the most striking in recent years, with favorable viewing conditions expected across South Asia, including Pakistan.
 


One dead, four injured as gas cylinder explosion triggers fire in Karachi building

Updated 22 February 2026
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One dead, four injured as gas cylinder explosion triggers fire in Karachi building

  • Fire triggered by gas cylinder explosion in Karachi’s Bismillah Residency in North Nazimabad area, say police
  • Many households in Pakistan rely on liquefied petroleum gas cylinders which are susceptible to gas explosions

ISLAMABAD: One person was killed while four others were injured in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi after a gas cylinder exploded, triggering a fire inside a residential building, police and rescue officials said on Sunday.

The fire was caused on Saturday night by a gas cylinder explosion at a flat in Bismillah Residency located in Karachi’s North Nazimabad area, Sindh Police said in a statement. Local media reports said the flat was located on the ninth floor of the high-rise building.

Rescue 1122 Sindh emergency service said its firefighters arrived shortly after the fire was reported and doused the flames on Sunday morning. It said all of the building’s occupants, except for the one person who was killed by the fire, were rescued.

“The child who died in the fire that broke out following a cylinder blast in a building has been identified as Burhan, son of Aoun, aged 15,” Rescue 1122 spokesperson said in a statement.

It said the injured included two women, one man and a four-year-old girl.

“All the injured were shifted to hospital after receiving immediate medical aid, and the rescue operation has been completed,” the spokesperson added.

This is the second such explosion to take place in Karachi in less than a week. At least 15 people were killed, including women and children, when a gas cylinder exploded in a residential building in the city’s Soldier Bazaar area on Thursday.

Most houses and apartment buildings in Karachi, like elsewhere in Pakistan, are supplied with natural gas for cooking. However, many households also rely on liquefied petroleum gas cylinders because of low natural gas pressure.

In July, a gas explosion following a wedding reception at a home in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, killed eight people, including the bride and groom.

A massive fire at a popular shopping mall in Karachi last month killed over 70 people.