Six dead in lightning strikes as rains lash Sindh and Balochistan

KARACHI/ISLAMABAD: Six people were killed in lightning strikes on Thursday, as the latest monsoon spell continued affecting Sindh with thick clouds hovering over the entire province and and parts of Balochistan, producing heavy downpour.

Four of these deaths were reported from Digri — a tehsil in Mirpurkhas district of southeastern Sindh. Eight others got severe burn injuries.

And in southern Sindh, a lightning strike killed two people and injured another two in the Matli area of Badin.

Although the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) says the current rainy spell will end tonight (Thursday), latest satellite images at 8:10pm showed cloud cover over Sindh as well as southern Balochistan.

Meanwhile, scattered cloud development in the neighbouring parts of India is also visible as clouds are moving towards Pakistan in west.

On the other hand, the last 24 hours saw 113mm of rain in the Orangi Town of Karachi — the highest total in Pakistan.

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On the other hand, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Thursday issued an alert which says heavy rains are expected in Sindh and eastern/southern Balochistan next week — from August 27 to 29.

However, there would be rains and thundershowers (scattered in nature) in eastern Sindh and eastern/northeastern Balochistan from August 23 to 26 before the widespread heavy rainfall starting on August 27.

It is worth noting that the topography of this region along with near absence of civic infrastructure means the plain areas of Sindh and Balochistan are most vulnerable to monsoon downpours.

This situation is worsened by the fact that climate change — like the rest of the world — is making rains more intense, stretching infrastructure in not only a mega city like Karachi but also the rural areas.

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Meanwhile, the next strong monsoon spell will start affecting the upper half of Pakistan from August 23.

According to the NDMA, widespread rains with scattered heavy falls are expected in Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and upper/central Punjab from August 23 to 27.

In the case of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a similar warning says the system will affect the province from August 23 to 26.

However, these rains would be scattered in southern Punjab from August 24 to 27.

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