Monsoon rains likely in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Pakistan

ISLAMABAD – The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) forecasts intermittent rains across Islamabad, Rawalpindi, and other parts of Pakistan over the next few days.

Rain is expected to continue through Monday night and into Tuesday and Wednesday, driven by monsoon currents from the Bay of Bengal that are advancing into the upper and eastern regions of the country. These currents are anticipated to move toward central and southern Pakistan as well.

During this period, monsoon rains are likely to affect the twin cities, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, Kashmir, upper and central Punjab, southeastern Sindh, and Balochistan.

There will be occasional breaks in the rainfall, but heavy showers could occur in Kashmir, northeast Punjab, the Pothohar region, northeast and southern Balochistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Such heavy rains may lead to flash flooding in local streams and nullahs in Kashmir, northeast Punjab, upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Koh-e-Sulaiman, and the hilly areas of northeast Balochistan on July 29 and 30.

Additionally, urban flooding could impact low-lying areas in northeast and southern Punjab, Peshawar, Karachi, and lower Sindh during this forecast period.

In terms of temperatures, Islamabad is expected to experience highs between 32-34°C on Tuesday and 33-31°C on Wednesday. Rawalpindi’s temperatures are likely to range from 31-33°C on Tuesday and 30-32°C on Wednesday.

Recently, rain and thunderstorms with isolated heavy showers have affected Northeast Punjab, the Pothohar region, Islamabad, southeastern Sindh, upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Kashmir, and northeast Balochistan. Rainfall over the past 24 hours includes:

• Punjab: Chaklala 81mm, Shamsabad 68mm, Kacheri 56mm; Islamabad (Saidpur 57mm, Golra 54mm, Zero Point 39mm, Bokra 38mm, Airport 10mm); Sargodha 43mm; Mandi Bahauddin 30mm; Jhang, Murree 24mm; Khanpur 18mm; Noorpur Thal 15mm; Mangla 12mm; Attock 08mm; Faisalabad 07mm; Joharabad, Toba Tek Singh, Chakwal, Narowal 01mm.
• Sindh: Chhor 58mm; Badin, Mithi 01mm.
• Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: Kakul 43mm; Balakot 05mm; Malam Jabba 02mm.
• Kashmir: Muzaffarabad (City 27mm, Airport 13mm); Ko Tally 17mm; Garhi Dupta 03mm.
• Balochistan: Lasbella 11mm; Kalat 05mm; Panjgur 01mm.

In contrast to the rainy weather, Sibbi recorded the highest temperature in the country at 47°C, followed by Dalbandin and Nokkundi at 46°C, and Dadu at 45°C. Islamabad and Rawalpindi both saw a maximum temperature of 30°C, with evening relative humidity at 100% and 96%, respectively.