Public holiday announced amid urban flooding risk in Karachi

KARACHI: Chief Minister of Sindh, Syed Murad Ali Shah, due to alarming weather and heavy rain forecast in upcoming days, has announced a public holiday in Karachi for Wednesday, August 20, 2025, ARY News reported.

The decision was made, following the predictions of heavy rainfall that could result in urban flooding in Karachi.

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has issued strict warning that rainstorm on Wednesday may surpass the rainfall of Tuesday, which already caused traffic disruption and partial flood in several areas.

During a high-level emergency meeting after Tuesday’s heavy rain, CM Murad Ali Shah announced public holiday in Karachi, and advised citizens not to come out of their homes for their safety and highlighted that this break aims to maximise public safety and convenience.

Rainfall in Karachi between 8 AM and 8 PM has different rain stats according to areas across Karachi, including 170 mm recorded in Gulshan-e-Hadeed, 158.5 mm in Old Airport, 152.8 mm in Jinnah Airport, 149.6 mm in Nazimabad, 145.2 mm in Surjani Town, and 143.8 mm in North Karachi.

According to the Chief Minister’s office, drainage systems across city are actively clearing water from key roads, and emergency services are on alert, and that is why the public holiday in Karachi has been announced, so that the citizens would remain safe within their homes, while the emergency teams would be able to work across city.

The city administration is working to combat the risk of urban flooding in Karachi, which remains a main problem due to the city’s weak infrastructure.

Earlier, the Sindh government announced that schools would remain closed on Wednesday across Karachi amid heavy rainfall.

The decision was made due to the risk of urban flooding caused by continuous downpours. Authorities stated that the move is intended to ensure the safety of students and school staff amid weather-related challenges.

It is worth noting that earlier, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government had also declared the closure of all schools for one week in the province’s cold mountainous regions.