Rain predicted in parts of Punjab in next 24 hours as heatwave eases
ISLAMABAD: Light rain is forecast in several divisions of Pakistan's Punjab province over the next 24 hours, provincial disaster management officials said on Monday, as a prolonged heat wave begins to ease in some areas.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said on June 10 an ongoing heatwave in several parts of the country was expected to continue well into the middle of the month, with temperatures soaring above normal, disrupting daily life and raising health concerns.
However, the heat wave has begun to subside, a spokesperson for the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said in a situation report, and in the past 24 hours, Bahawalnagar recorded 8 millimeters of rain, Sahiwal 3 mm, and Toba Tek Singh up to 2 mm.
Rainfall was also reported in Multan, Sialkot, Jhang, Kasur, Faisalabad and Rawalpindi districts.
'Rain is predicted in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Multan, Bahawalpur, Sargodha, Gujranwala, D.G. Khan, and Sahiwal divisions in the next 24 hours,' the PDMA spokesperson said.
Five people were injured in a roof collapse caused by rain in Kasur district in the last 24 hours, the PDMA confirmed.
PDMA Director General Irfan Ali Kathia 'instructed to provide the best medical assistance to the injured' and urged residents to exercise caution during unstable weather.
'Citizens are requested to take precautionary measures in bad weather conditions,' Kathia said in the statement. 'Stay in safe places in bad weather conditions. Never go out under the open sky during thunderstorms.'
Pakistan ranks among the top ten countries most vulnerable to climate change and has faced increasingly frequent extreme weather events in recent years, including deadly heat waves and floods.
Temperatures in the upper parts of the country including parts of Punjab, Islamabad, northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the northern regions of Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan remained 5°C to 7°C above normal this past week. Temperatures in the southern Sindh, eastern Punjab and southwestern Balochistan provinces stayed 4°C to 6°C above normal.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
8 hours ago
- Arab News
Morocco says 2024 ‘hottest year' on record
RABAT: The year 2024 was Morocco's hottest on record, the North African country's meteorological agency said on Friday, mirroring the record surface temperatures measured globally. In an annual report, the agency said it recorded an average temperature anomaly of +1.49 degrees Celsius (+2.7 Fahrenheit) last year compared to the 1991-2020 period. 'The year 2024 stands out as the hottest ever recorded in Morocco,' it said, adding that every month in 2024, excluding June and September, had been hotter than the average for the 1991-2020 reference period. Several cities broke daily heat records, with 47.6 degrees Celsius (117.7 Fahrenheit) in Marrakech and 47.7 degrees Celsius (117.8 Fahrenheit) in Beni Mellal in July last year, the agency said. It also noted 'an increase in thermal anomalies, particularly during the autumn and winter seasons.' Morocco's all-time heat record was set in August 2023, when temperatures hit 50.4 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit) in Agadir. The country, which is enduring a seventh straight year of drought, registered an average rainfall deficit of -24.7 percent last year, the report said. The agency said last year's data reflected 'an amplification of climate contrasts in Morocco, where prolonged droughts alternate with episodes of extreme precipitation.' Torrential rains in September 2024 — causing floods and killing 18 people — 'did not reverse the overall rainfall deficit,' it added. Moroccan climatologist Mohammed-Said Karrouk, who also heads Morocco's National Future Planet Committee, warned that the kingdom's geography and climate make it more vulnerable to temperature extremes. He said warming was now observed in all seasons. 'In autumn, lingering summer heat combined with gradually cooling temperatures favors violent downpours, which have become more dangerous due to excess humidity in the atmosphere,' he said. 'In winter, the heat originating mostly from warming tropical oceans now influences North Africa as well.' A former member of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Karrouk also warned of a recent intensification of the West African monsoon — a seasonal wind system that brings moist air from the Atlantic Ocean — which he linked to the deadly September floods. He called for the construction of shelters to protect vulnerable populations and dams to capture water — a valuable resource with Morocco's unrelenting drought. Weather extremes have taken a toll on farming, a vital sector for Morocco which employs nearly a third of its active population and accounts for 12 percent of GDP. Scientists say that recurring heatwaves are a clear marker of global warming and that they are set to become more frequent, longer and more intense. Fuelled by human-driven climate change, 2024 was the warmest year on record globally — and 2025 is projected to rank among the top three.
Arab News
18 hours ago
- Arab News
Health officials issue warnings as UK bakes in the first heat wave of 2025
LONDON: British health officials are warning people across the country to take precautions when out in the sun as the UK bakes under its first heat wave of the year. Temperatures are expected to peak at 34 degrees Celsius (93 degrees Fahrenheit) in some parts of eastern England on Saturday following a week of unusually warm weather, according to the national weather agency the Met Office. That's about 12 C (22 F) higher than normal for this time of year. The UK Health Security Agency has issued an amber heat health alert covering all of England because of increased health risks for people over 65 and those with heart and lung problems. 'Heat can result in serious health outcomes across the population, especially for older adults or those with pre-existing health conditions,' Dr. Agostinho Sousa, head of the UKHSA, said in a statement. 'It is therefore important to check on friends, family and neighbors who are more vulnerable and to take sensible precautions while enjoying the sun.' Saturday is expected to be the hottest day of the heat wave, with temperatures falling slightly on Sunday and dropping back into the more normal temperatures next week, the Met Office said. The heat alert is currently scheduled to remain in effect until Monday morning. Unusually, temperatures in London this week have been higher than in many parts of Western Europe. That's because the high temperatures are not the result of hot air moving north from the Iberian Peninsula or North Africa as is often the case, the Met Office said. Instead, this weather system originated in air high over the Atlantic Ocean south of Greenland. As it approaches the UK, it descends toward ground level, causing it to warm rapidly, Chief Meteorologist Matthew Lenhert said. That said, it has been plenty hot in Europe too. Aviation enthusiasts attending the Paris Air Show in Le Bourget, north of Paris, this week sought the shade of a Boeing 777's wing, cooling off as temperatures hovered in the low 30s C (mid-80s F.) Met Office scientists this week published research showing that climate change is increasing the likelihood of extreme high temperatures in the UK The chance of temperatures exceeding 40 C (104 F) is now more than 20 times higher than it was in the 1960s, the researchers said.
Al Arabiya
19 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Health officials issue warnings as UK bakes in the first heat wave of 2025
British health officials are warning people across the country to take precautions when out in the sun as the UK bakes under its first heat wave of the year. Temperatures are expected to peak at 34 degrees Celsius (93 degrees Fahrenheit) in some parts of eastern England on Saturday following a week of unusually warm weather, according to the national weather agency, the Met Office. That's about 12 C (22 F) higher than normal for this time of year. The UK Health Security Agency has issued an amber heat health alert covering all of England because of increased health risks for people over 65 and those with heart and lung problems. 'Heat can result in serious health outcomes across the population, especially for older adults or those with pre-existing health conditions,' Dr. Agostinho Sousa, head of the UKHSA, said in a statement. 'It is therefore important to check on friends, family, and neighbors who are more vulnerable and to take sensible precautions while enjoying the sun.' Saturday is expected to be the hottest day of the heat wave, with temperatures falling slightly on Sunday and dropping back into the more normal temperatures next week, the Met Office said. The heat alert is currently scheduled to remain in effect until Monday morning. Unusually, temperatures in London this week have been higher than in many parts of Western Europe. 'That's because the high temperatures are not the result of hot air moving north from the Iberian Peninsula or North Africa, as is often the case,' the Met Office said. 'Instead, this weather system originated in air high over the Atlantic Ocean south of Greenland. As it approaches the UK, it descends toward ground level, causing it to warm rapidly,' Chief Meteorologist Matthew Lenhert said. 'That said, it has been plenty hot in Europe, too. Aviation enthusiasts attending the Paris Air Show in Le Bourget, north of Paris, this week sought the shade of a Boeing 777's wing, cooling off as temperatures hovered in the low 30s C (mid-80s F).' Met Office scientists this week published research showing that climate change is increasing the likelihood of extreme high temperatures in the UK. 'The chance of temperatures exceeding 40 Celsius (104 F) is now more than twenty times higher than it was in the 1960s,' the researchers said.
