The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has warned that widespread monsoon rains over the next two days could significantly increase river flows across the country, with the River Chenab already flowing at medium flood level and flash flooding expected in several regions.
According to the Flood Forecasting Division’s daily bulletin issued on Tuesday, River Chenab at Khanki is currently at medium flood level, while River Indus at Kalabagh and Chashma, River Kabul at Nowshera, and River Chenab at Marala and Qadirabad remain at low flood level.
All other major rivers are flowing normally for now.
The PMD said a combination of a strong monsoon system and a westerly weather disturbance is expected to bring scattered to widespread rain with isolated heavy downpours across the catchment areas of all major rivers through July 24, causing river flows to rise significantly.
Authorities expect medium flooding in the Chenab River at Marala, Khanki, and Qadirabad, as well as in the Jhelum River upstream of Mangla. Several hill streams and nullahs linked to the Jhelum, Chenab, and Ravi rivers are also likely to experience medium flood conditions.
The bulletin also warns of flash floods in the hill torrents of Dera Ghazi Khan, streams across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and northern Balochistan.
In addition, urban flooding is expected in several cities, including:
- Rawalpindi
- Jhelum
- Gujranwala
- Faisalabad
- Mandi Bahauddin
- Khushab
- Sialkot
- Gujrat
- Narowal
- Lahore
For the next 24 hours, PMD has forecast widespread rain and thunderstorms over the upper catchments of all major rivers, Islamabad, large parts of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as well as northeastern Balochistan. Similar weather conditions are expected to continue over the following 48 hours.
The weekly outlook further warns that another low-pressure system currently over southeast Rajasthan, India, could move towards southeastern Sindh within the next three to four days, potentially enhancing rainfall activity in the region.
The latest rainfall data shows exceptionally heavy rain in several areas over the past 24 hours, including Gujranwala (142 mm), Mandi Bahauddin (138 mm), Narowal (117 mm), Phularwan (114 mm), Daulat Nagar (97 mm), and Sialkot Airport (95 mm), indicating an already saturated ground that could worsen flooding risks if more rain falls.
HOW CLOSE IS EACH RIVER TO ITS LIMIT?
Qadirabad is in low to medium flood at 157.8 — 42.2 below its high flood level (200.0). Each bar is one station’s own
flood levels across its maximum capacity; the solid run is the flow so far, the pale run is the room still left.
