Climate of Pakistan

Pakistan lies in the temperate zone. The climate is generally arid, characterized by hot summers and cool or cold winters, and there are wide variations between extremes of temperature. The upper parts of Pakistan sometimes get rain from the Western Disturbance almost every month and from June till September almost whole country is lashed by South West Monsoon rain.

Pakistan has recorded one of the highest temperatures in the world, the hottest of which is recorded in Mohenjo-daroo, Sindh, 53.5 °C (128.3 °F) on 26th May, 2010 it is not only the hottest temperature ever recorded in Pakistan, but also the hottest reliably measured temperature ever recorded in the continent of Asia. As Pakistan is located on a great landmass north of the tropic of Cancer (between latitudes 24° and 37° N), it has a continental type of climate characterized by extreme variations of temperature, both seasonally and daily. Very high altitudes modify the climate in the cold, snow-covered northern mountains; temperatures on the Balouchistan Plateau are somewhat higher. Along the coastal strip, the climate is modified by sea breezes. In the rest of the country, temperature reach great heights in the summer; the mean temperature during June is 100° F (38° C) in the plains, where the highest temperatures can exceed 117° F (47° C). In the summer, hot winds called loo blow across the plains during the day. Trees shed their leaves to avoid loss of moisture. The dry, hot weather is broken occasionally by dust storms and thunderstorms that temporarily lower the temperature. Evenings are cool; the diurnal variation in temperature may be as much as 20° to 30° F (11° to 17° C). Winters are cold, with minimum mean temperatures of about 40° F (4° C) in January.

Factors

The controlling factors of the climate are:

1. The sub-Tropical location of Pakistan that tends to keep the temperature high, particularly in summer.
2. The oceanic influence of the Arabian Sea that keeps down the temperature contrast between summer and winter at the coast.
3. Higher altitudes in the west and north that keep the temperature down throughout the year.
4. The Monsoon winds that bring rainfall in summer.
5. The Western Depression originating from the Mediterranean region and entering Pakistan from the west that brings rainfall in winter. These cyclones make a long land journey and are thus robbed of most of the moisture by the time they reach Pakistan.
6. A temperature inversion layer at a low elevation of about 1,500 m in the south during the summer that does not allow the moisture-laden air to rise and condensation to take place.

Seasonal climate

Pakistan has a cool, dry winter starting from December but it get wets during January and February specially in western parts of the country ; a hot, dry season from March through May with occasional rains due to local cloud bursts; the summer rainy season, or southwest monsoon period, from June through September; and the retreating monsoon period of October and November. The onset and duration of these seasons vary somewhat according to location. It is also said that Pakistan has three seasons: winter (November to March) is warm and cooled by sea breezes on the coast; summer (April to July) has extreme temperatures and the monsoon season (rain season) (July to September) has the highest rainfall on the hills and the extreme lower and upper parts of the country.

Temperature regions

Pakistan can be divided into four broad temperature regions:

1. Hot summer and mild winter: 32o C or more in summer and 10 to 21o C in winter.
2. Warm summer and mild winter: 21 - 32oC in summer and 10 to 21oC in winter.
3. Warm summer and cool winter: 21 - 32oC in summer and 0 - 10oC in winter.
4. Mild summer and cool/cold winter: Summer temperature between 10 and 21oC and winter temperature between 0 and 10oC.

Regional climate

Punjab

There are two areas of Punjab in Pakistan, which are southern Punjab and northern Punjab. Both these areas have their own weather pattern like north Punjab is more wet and south Punjab is little drier than north Punjab. Most areas in Punjab experience fairly cool winters, often accompanied by Western Disturbance rain. Woolen shawls are worn by women and men for warmth because few homes are heated. By mid-February the temperature begins to rise; springtime weather continues until mid-April, when the summer heat sets in. The onset of the southwest monsoon is anticipated to reach Punjab by June, but since the early 1970s the weather pattern has been irregular but monsoon reaches Punjab in the second week of July. The Pothohar Plateau also receives a good deal of rainfall during the winter season. The spring monsoon has either skipped over the area or has caused it to rain so hard that floods have resulted. June and July are oppressively hot. There are many hot places in Punjab, one of them is Multan where 54C temperature was recorded in June 1993.

Climatically, Punjab has three major seasons as under:

• Hot weather (April to June) when temperature rises as high as 110F.
• Rainy season (July to September). Average rainfall annual ranges between 96 cms sub-mountain region and 46 cms in the plains.
• Cold weather (October to March). Temperature goes down as low as 40F.

Sindh

Main article: Climate of Sindh

Drizzle in Karachi in June as Pre-Monsoon rain.

Sindh is divided into three climatic regions: Siro (the upper region, centred on Jacobabad), Wicholo (the middle region, centered on Hyderabad), and Lar (the lower region, centred on Karachi). Sindh is situated in a subtropical region; it is very hot in the summer and mild cold in winter. Temperatures frequently rise above 46 °C (115 °F) between May and August, and the minimum average temperature of 2 °C (36 °F) occurs during December and January. The annual rainfall averages about seven inches, falling mainly during July and August. The southwesterly monsoon wind begins to blow in mid-June and continues until the end of September, whereas the cool northerly wind blows during the winter months from October to January. The highest temperature ever recorded in Pakistan was recorded in Mohenjo-daroo, Sindh, 53.5°C on 26th May, 2010 it is not only the hottest temperature ever recorded in Pakistan, but also the hottest reliably measured temperature ever recorded on the continent of Asia.

Karachi

Main article: Climate of Karachi

Pakistan's largest city, Karachi, which is also the country's industrial center, is more humid than Islamabad but gets less rain. Only July and August average more than 25 millimetres (0.98 in) of rain in the Karachi area; the remaining months are exceedingly dry. The temperature is also more uniform in Karachi than in Islamabad, ranging from an average daily low of 13 °C (55.4 °F) during winter evenings to an average daily high of 34 °C (93.2 °F) on summer days. Although the summer temperatures do not get as high as those in Punjab, the high humidity causes the residents a great deal of discomfort. But due to Global Warming the South West Monsoon has started to cause heavy rain in the city form july to august like on July 19, 2009, the Karachi metropolitan area received 205 mm (8.07 in) of rain in a single day.

Balochistan

Balochistan does not lie in a monsoon region except for some eastern and northern parts and is the driest region of Pakistan. The climate of Balochistan is identical to that of Middle East. There are no rains in this province from monsoon (except for Barkhan, Lasbela, Zhob, Sibbi and the adjoining areas) but in December and January snowstorm and rain occur due to Western Disturbance. There is little rainfall in Balochistan.In the Khuzdar District of Balochistan, there is a small area adjoining Dadu district of Sindh that is in the monsoon belt and it receives good rainfall during monsoon season; the yearly rainfall in the province however ranges from 50 to 100 mm (2.0 to 3.9 in) per year. In 2010, Cyclone phet caused widespread rains and flooding in the province. Gwadar alone receive 370 mm rain which is also a record rainfall for the city.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

The climate of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa varies immensely for a region of its size, most of the many climate types found in Pakistan. The province stretching southwards from the Baroghil Pass in the Hindu Kush covers almost six degrees of latitude; it is mainly a mountainous region. Dera Ismail Khan is one of the hottest places in the South Asia while in the mountains to the north the weather is temperate in the summer and intensely cold in the winter. The air is generally very dry and consequently the daily and annual range of temperature is quite large. there is a high amount of rainfall in the upper upper North-West Frontier Province ranging from 1,800 to 2,000 mm (70.9 to 78.7 in) per year.Dir, Balakot,and adjoining areas are among the wettest places of Pakistan and the province.

Islamabad Capital Territory

Main article: Climate of Islamabad

The climate in the Islamabad Capital Territory varies from an average daily low of 2 °C (35.6 °F) in January to an average daily high of 40 °C (104 °F) in June. Half of the annual rainfall occurs in July and August, averaging about 255 millimetres (10.04 in) in each of those two months. The remainder of the year has significantly less rain, amounting to about 50 millimetres (1.97 in) per month. Hailstorms are common in the spring. The capital city, Islamabad, is in the range of both summer and winter rainfall, so average rainfall is quite high as compared to the plains in the south.

Gilgit-Baltistan

The 62 kilometer long Baltoro Glacier, in northern Pakistan, is one of the longest glaciers outside the polar regions

The northern areas are very cold throughout the year, and the Karakoram mountain range has large glaciers, sometimes referred to as the third pole of the world. These areas are only accessible in the summer months to world-class climbers. Winter rainfall and snowfall is high in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Azad Kashmir

Azad Kashmir receives rainfall in both winters and the summer. Neelum valley and hill tops are completely covered with intense layer of snowfall during the winters other lower valleys receive a handsome amount of winter rainfall. Summer rainfall occur due to interaction of Monsoon winds blowing from Arabian sea and Bay of Bengal with Western Disturbances. Muzaffarabad and Pattan are among the wettest places in Pakistan. Throughout most of the region, the average rainfall normal average exceeds 1400 mm, with the highest average rainfall occurring somewhere near Muzaffarabad (around 1800 mm ). During the summer season, monsoon floods of the rivers Jhelum and Leepa are common due to extreme rains and snow melting.

Extremes

Main article: List of extreme weather records in Pakistan

The highest tempreture ever recorded in pakistan is 53.5 °C (128.3 °F) which was recorded in Mohenjo-daro, Sindh on 26th of May, 2010 it was not only the hottest temperature ever recorded in pakistan but the hottest reliably measured temperature ever recorded in the continent of Asia. and the fourth highest temperature ever recorded on earth. The highest rainfall of 620 millimetres (24 in) was recorded in Islamabad during 24 hours on 24th July, 2001. The record breaking rain fell in just 10 hours. It was the heaviest rainfall in Islamabad in the past 100 years.

Floods

• In 1950, flooding killed 2,910 people.
• In 1992, flooding during monsoon season killed 1,834 people across the country.
• In 1993, Monsoon rains causes floods whcih killed 3,084 people.
• In 1977, On 1st July heavy rains and flooding in Karachi, killed 248 people, according to Pakistan meteorological department 207 millimetres (8.1 in) of rain fell in 24 hours.
• In 2003, Sindh province was badly affected due to monsoon rains causing damages in billions, killed 178 people.
• In 2007, Cyclone Yemyin submerged lower part of Balochistan Province in sea water killing 380 people. Before that it killed 213 people in Karachi on its way to Balochistan.
• 2010 Mid-July till Mid-August - Pakistan's four provinces (Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Southern Punjab and Sindh) were badly affected during the monsoon rains when dams, rivers and lakes overflowed killing at least 1600 people and affecting 14 million people. The flood is considered as worst in Pakistan's history affecting people of all four provinces and Azad Kashmir region of Pakistan.

See also

• Climate
• List of extreme weather records in Pakistan