By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Meteorological Department said on Thursday that the country had set a new temperature record, with the mercury soaring to 51.5 degrees Celsius in the southern district of Dadu in Sindh province.
The reading, taken amid a stifling heat wave that has blanketed much of the country for days, exceeded the seasonal norm by 4.5 degrees Celsius. It came as the department had warned last week that hot to very hot conditions would dominate the Eidul Azha holiday period, with temperatures running 5 to 7 degrees Celsius above average across large swaths of the nation.
Larkana and Jacobabad, also in Sindh, followed close behind with highs of 50.5 degrees Celsius, the department said. In a press release, it forecast that maximum temperatures would likely remain 4 to 6 degrees Celsius above normal through the coming days and could climb as high as 47 to 50 degrees Celsius in an extensive list of districts: Sukkur, Shikarpur, Qambar Shahdadkot, Jacobabad, Larkana, Mohenjo Daro, Dadu, Shaheed Benazirabad, Tharparkar, Badin, Sujawal, Thatta, Hyderabad, Matiyari, Tando Muhammad Khan, Umerkot, Ghotki, Khairpur, Nausheroferoze, Mirpur Khas, Jamshoro, Sanghar, Sibbi, Turbat, and Panjgur.
For Thursday, the department predicted mainly hot and dry weather across most of the country, though isolated rain, windstorms, or thunderstorms remained possible in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and northeastern Punjab. Friday’s outlook was similar, with very hot conditions expected in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, and central and southern Balochistan. Rain, windstorms, or thunderstorms were again possible at isolated spots in Kashmir, northeastern Punjab, and the Potohar region during the evening or night.
The blistering heat arrives against a backdrop of mounting long-term climate warnings. The United Nations said on Thursday that global average temperatures are likely to remain at or near record levels this year and for the next four years. The World Meteorological Organization has calculated a 75 percent chance that the five-year average temperature from 2026 to 2030 will exceed the critical 1.5-degree-Celsius threshold above pre-industrial levels.
Earlier in May, Pakistan’s own meteorological service cautioned that El Niño conditions — the warming of surface waters in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific — are likely to develop during the 2026 southwest monsoon season across South Asia. The phenomenon, which alternates with its cooler counterpart La Niña, alters wind, pressure, and rainfall patterns worldwide. The department predicted below-normal rainfall over most of the region during the coming monsoon, particularly in central areas, though parts of the northwest, northeast, and south could see normal to above-normal precipitation. It also forecast higher-than-normal minimum and maximum temperatures across much of South Asia.
Compounding the heat-related risks, Pakistan’s provincial disaster management authority in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa warned this week of heightened danger from glacial lake outburst floods, or GLOFs, in the northern province. Rising summer temperatures and expected rains through May 31 are accelerating snow and glacier melt, the authority said, raising the threat of sudden, catastrophic flooding.
The Met Office has forecast rain accompanied by thunderstorms and possible hail from May 26 through May 31 in Chitral, Dir, Mingora, Hangu, Swat, Mansehra, Abbottabad, Haripur, and Parachinar. The disaster authority noted that sudden temperature spikes and heavy rain increase the risk of flash floods from overflowing glacial lakes. It urged district administrations to prepare emergency measures, keep relief teams on standby, and remain in constant contact.
Officials advised residents to move livestock and valuables to higher ground, avoid unnecessary travel — especially in areas where floodwaters could sweep away vehicles — and heed all warnings from local authorities. “All relevant institutions, relief teams and district administration are advised to remain in touch at all times and be ready for immediate response,” the authority said.
Pakistan, which contributes roughly 1 percent of global greenhouse-gas emissions, ranks among the nations most severely affected by climate change. In recent years it has endured a punishing cycle of heat waves, droughts, flash floods, and GLOF events. Last year alone, intense monsoon rains — worsened by excess water released from dams in India — killed at least 1,000 people and left widespread destruction. The country has repeatedly pressed developed nations to make the Loss and Damage Fund operational, arguing that it needs international support to cope with disasters it did little to create.
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