ISLAMABAD: At least 32 people have died and over 150 have been injured across Pakistan over the past week due to a series of violent storms that followed a severe heatwave. Officials confirmed on Friday that five more lives were lost on Thursday as extreme weather continued to batter parts of the country.
According to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Disaster Management Authority, Thursday’s casualties included five people—among them a child—who died during heavy rains and strong winds in various districts of the province.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department has warned that stormy weather is expected to persist in northern and central regions of the country through Saturday.
Earlier in the week, windstorms killed 10 people on Tuesday and another 14 last Saturday, adding to the rising toll. Pakistan, one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change, is experiencing increasingly frequent and intense weather events.
In Sindh province, three children were killed in Hyderabad on Wednesday, according to a senior official.
Most of the fatalities have been linked to collapsing structures—walls and roofs weakened by the storms. However, at least two people died after being struck by solar panels torn loose by powerful gusts.
Severe storms cause deaths in Pakistan every year, but officials say their frequency and intensity have risen sharply this month.
The storms come on the heels of a punishing heatwave in May, which followed an unusually warm April and a dry winter. Temperatures soared up to six degrees Celsius above the seasonal average, topping 48°C (118°F) in some areas.
