In April 2017, a severe

heat wave A heat wave or heatwave, sometimes described as extreme heat, is a period of abnormally hot weather generally considered to be at least ''five consecutive days''. A heat wave is usually measured relative to the usual climate in the area and ...

with temperatures as high as 51°C (124 °F) hit Pakistan, especially its southern parts. This heat wave broke the old temperature records of many cities in the country for the month of April.Pakistan Meteorological Department
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Larkana Larkana (; ) is a city located in the Sindh province of Pakistan. It is the 15th largest city of Pakistan by population. It is home to the Indus Valley civilization site Mohenjo-daro. The historic Indus River flows in east and south of the ci ...

, a city in the southern province of

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

, experienced the highest maximum temperature of 51.0 °C on 20 April, breaking the previous day's record of 50°C.

Affected areas

In late March 2017, a heatwave engulfed most parts of the

province as

Nawabshah Nawabshah is a headquarter of Nawabshah Tehsil in Shaheed Benazirabad District of Sindh province, Pakistan. This city is situated in the middle of Sindh province. It is the List of most populous cities in Pakistan, 27th most populous city in P ...

and Larkana registered 43 °C. The severe heat wave turned April 2017 as the hottest April passed during the last two decades. On 17 April,

Sukkur Sukkur is a city in the Pakistani province of Sindh along the western bank of the Indus River, directly across from the historic city of Rohri. Sukkur is the List of cities in Sindh by population, third largest city in Sindh after Karachi and H ...

recorded 47 °C breaking its earlier record of 46.5 °C on 25 April 2000. The temperature in

Multan Multan is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, fifth-most populous city in the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab province of Pakistan. Located along the eastern bank of the Chenab River, it is the List of cities in Pakistan by populatio ...

reached 45.1 °C which broke its previous record during the month of April of 44.7 °C recorded on 19 April 2010. Similarly,

Khanpur Khanpur may refer to: Places in India * Khanpur, Chanditala-II, a village in Hooghly district, West Bengal * Khanpur, Delhi, a neighbourhood in Delhi * Khanpur, Ghazipur, a village in Ghazipur district, Uttar Pradesh * Khanpur, Gujarat, a town in G ...

leveled its previous maximum temperature of 46.5 °C recorded on 27 April 1993. In

Faisalabad Faisalabad, formerly known as Lyallpur, is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, second-largest city and primary List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, industrial center of the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan ...

, maximum temperature reached 44.5 °C compared to its previous maximum temperature of 44 °C recorded on 29 April 2007. On 19 April, four Pakistani cities witnessed the hottest days of their history in the month of April, including Larkana (50 °C), Moenjo Daro (49 °C),

Sibi Sibi (; ;) is a city situated in the Balochistan (Pakistan), Balochistan Subdivisions of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. The city serves as the administrative headquarters of the Sibi District, district and Sibi Tehsil, tehsil of the same name ...

(49 °C) and

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

(45 °C). Previously, the maximum temperature recorded in Lahore during April was 44 °C on 18 April 2010. On 20 April, Larkana recorded 51 °C as maximum temperature, while the meteorological office at

Moenjodaro Airport Moenjo Daro Airport is a domestic airport located in Mohenjo-daro, Sindh under the administration of the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority. It is 28 km away from the city of Larkana. It used to be the third-busiest airport in Sindh. Histo ...

recorded the temperature at 50 °C. On 21–22 April, dust storms and light rain over upper parts of the country and in north-east

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

broke the heat spell but damaged wheat and other crops. However, most parts of Sindh continued to experience an early summer. On 1 May, Nawabshah and

Mithi Mithi (; , ) is a city and the administrative capital of Tharparkar District in the Sindh province of Pakistan. It became the district headquarter of Tharparkar District in 1990, after the area's separation from Mirpur Khas. Mithi is one of the v ...

recorded the maximum temperature of 44.5 °C. On 5 May, the heat wave claimed four lives in

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

which recorded temperature at 45 °C.

Recorded temperatures

Extreme temperatures started to affect parts of the country from mid-April and peaked on 19–20 April.

References

{{List of heat waves, state=autocollapse 2010s heat waves 2017 meteorology 2017 natural disasters Heat waves in Pakistan 2017 disasters in Pakistan April 2017 in Pakistan

Affected areas

Recorded temperatures

See also

References