The Meteorological Department has issued a drought alert for Sindh, Balochistan, and Punjab.
According to the alert issued on Monday, the drought situation will continue in the southern parts of Sindh, Balochistan, and the lower eastern plains of Punjab. The alert has been issued despite recent rains, which have improved the drought situation in the central and upper parts of the country.
The average temperature in the lower half of the country during March 2025 was 2 to 3 degrees Celsius above normal. while Some areas of the southern region have experienced more than 200 days of continuous dry weather. The drought situation is likely to further increase and intensify in the affected areas from the current weather and climate perspective.
In Sindh, moderate drought is expected in Padidan, Shaheed Benazirabad, Dadu, Tharparkar, Umerkot, Khairpur, Hyderabad, Thatta, Badin, and Karachi, while mild drought is expected in Ghotki, Jacobabad, Larkana, Sukkur, Khairpur and Sanghar.
In Balochistan, drought conditions will remain moderate in Gwadar, Kech, Lasbela, Panjgur and Awaran, while drought conditions will remain mild in Chagai, Jaffarabad, Jhal Magsi, Sibi, Noshki and Washuk.
In Punjab, Bahawalnagar, Bahawalpur, and Rahim Yar Khan will be the affected areas, the alert said, adding that the PMD’s National Drought Monitoring and Early Warning Centre (NDMC) is monitoring the situation. Due to a lack of rainfall and rising temperatures, flash drought is also expected to emerge in the coming months, which will intensify rapidly due to changes in rainfall, temperature, wind, and radiation.
