ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) on Friday warned that heavy rains may cause urban flooding in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Gujranwala, Lahore and Faisalabad over the weekend, as a weather system is expected to bring rain and windstorms to the country’s upper parts until July 13.
Pakistan’s annual monsoon season, which runs from June to September, triggers flash floods, landslides and house collapses. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) had projected this year’s monsoon will bring 22 to 26 percent more rainfall than 2025, when more than 1,000 people were killed nationwide.
“Heavy rains may cause localized urban flooding in Islamabad/Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Gujranwala, Lahore and Faisalabad on 11th and 12th July,” the department said in an advisory.
The warning comes as monsoon rains have killed at least 18 people, as of Monday, and injured 49 across Pakistan since June 26, according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa recording the highest number of deaths.
The PMD said moist currents from the Arabian Sea were penetrating the upper parts of the country and were likely to strengthen on Saturday evening, when a westerly wave was also expected to approach the region.
The Met Office forecast rain with isolated heavy falls in Kashmir from Friday night until July 13, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and most of Punjab on July 11 and 12, and in Gilgit-Baltistan from Saturday night until July 13, with isolated showers also expected in northeastern Balochistan and parts of upper Sindh.
The department warned that landslides may occur in vulnerable areas of upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir, and that water flows may rise in local streams and hill torrents of Dera Ghazi Khan.
“Tourists and travelers are advised to remain extra cautious and avoid unnecessary traveling during the forecast period,” the PMD said, adding that windstorms and lightning could damage weak structures including solar panels, electric poles and billboards.
The department said prevailing hot and humid conditions were likely to subside during the forecast period.
