Over the weekend, remote areas of Pakistan witnessed tragic events, with at least 35 people losing their lives and numerous others sustaining injuries due to freezing rain and unexpected snowfall.
Among the casualties were 22 children, who perished in landslides that engulfed their homes, causing widespread devastation to roads and hundreds of houses in the northern and western regions of the country.
The unanticipated snowfall in March, a typically humid month for Pakistan, left experts astonished, attributing the unusual weather conditions to climate change.
Mushtaq Ali Shah, a former director of the meteorological department, emphasized that while a brief hailstorm wouldn’t be surprising, prolonged snowfall exceeding 30 minutes was highly uncommon.
Residents, like Hajit Shah from Kirk district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, expressed their surprise, recalling a previous occurrence of light snowfall in their area around 25 or 30 years ago.
The severe weather resulted in the complete destruction of 150 houses and partial damage to 500 others, predominantly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. Additionally, electricity has been disrupted for days in some districts.
In response to the crisis, the provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has initiated relief efforts, providing supplies to affected areas and announcing financial assistance for the injured and the families of the deceased.
Looking ahead, Pakistan’s meteorological department forecasts mainly cold and dry weather for most parts of the country throughout the week, with a possibility of snowfall over hills in certain areas of Balochistan and Kashmir.
Source-BBC
