PMD forecasts another rain spell from tomorrow

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has predicted another spell of heavy rains from March 5 to March 7.

In an advisory the authority has warned that weather in the upcoming weeks could lead to flash flooding, snow bloackages and landslides in multiple parts of the country.

The area’s most likely to be affected by the rains include Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Kashmir, Gilgit Baltistan, Upper and Southern Punjab and Balochistan, it said.

Meanwhile, the weather will remain cold and dry in most parts of the country.

According to the PMD, Sindh will remain in the grip of a severe cold wave.

The temperature in the province will be 10 degrees lower in a couple of days as compared to the normal March weather.

“The normal average temperature for March in Karachi is 19.4°C. Today, the temperature in Karachi was 11.1°C, which is 8.3°C lower than the normal March weather,” the PMD stated.

More than 30 people have died in rain-related incidents in Pakistan during days of heavy downpours, with thousands of schools closed, officials said.

Widespread heavy rain since Thursday has caused severe disruption in some areas of the country, including the closure of all schools in Balochistan province until Thursday.

Eighteen children were among 26 killed in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province as a result of collapsed buildings.

“As a result of continuous rainfall over the past four days in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a total of 27 individuals have lost their lives,” said Taimur Ali Khan, the spokesperson for the Provincial Disaster Management Authority in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Another person was killed in a landslide and more than 150 houses were also damaged.

In southern Balochistan province, five people were killed when buildings collapsed on Thursday and Friday, said Jahanzain Khan, head of the disaster management agency.

Damaged roads, floods and landslides have cut villages off from main towns in Balochistan, while major roads were blocked in Gilgit-Baltistan, local media reported.