Pakistan lies in the

temperate zone In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ra ...

. The climate is generally arid, characterized by the extreme southwestern part of the country where

Gwadar Gwadar (, ) is a Port, port city on the southwestern coast of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Balochistan, Pakistan, Balochistan. The city is located on the shores of the Arabian Sea, opposite Oman and has a populati ...

and

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

are the main port cities. Though cyclones are rare in the Arabian sea which a part of North Indian Ocean, cyclones that form in this sea mostly move towards

Western India Western India is a loosely defined region of India consisting of western states of India, Republic of India. The Ministry of Home Affairs (India), Ministry of Home Affairs in its Western Zonal Council Administrative divisions of India, Adminis ...

rather than Pakistan. Cyclones in the Arabian sea form mostly from May till June and then from September till October,

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...

season plays a vital role for the formation of cyclone in this basin. Tropical storms that hit Pakistan are mostly remnants by the time reach Pakistan or make landfall in south eastern

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 ...

which is not very much populated they rarely move towards the

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; , ), also spelled as Baluchistan or Baluchestan, is a historical region in West and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. This arid region o ...

coast.

Background

Pakistan has a 1,046-kilometre (650 mi) coastline along the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea () is a region of sea in the northern Indian Ocean, bounded on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf of Aden and Guardafui Channel, on the northwest by Gulf of Oman and Iran, on the north by Pakistan, on the east by India, and ...

and the Gulf of Oman in the extreme south western part of the country where

is the main port city. Though cyclones are rare in the Arabian sea which is a part of North Indian Ocean, cyclones that form in this sea mostly move towards

rather than Pakistan. Cyclones in the Arabian sea form mostly from May till June and then from September till October,

season plays a vital role for the formation of cyclone in this basin. Each year before the onset of monsoon that is 15 April to 15 July and also after its withdrawal that is 15 September to 15 December, there is always a distinct possibility of the cyclonic storm to develop in the north Arabian Sea. There is a 98 per cent chance of cyclones to turn towards the Indian state of Gujarat, one per cent chance of moving towards the Gulf and one per cent chance of moving towards the Pakistani coast. There is only one tropical cyclone warning centre in Pakistan, which is in Karachi in Sindh province. Yemyin 2007-06-26 0650Z

Cyclones mostly hit the Sindh coast than the Balochistan coast in Pakistan. During the last 125 years a number of cyclonic storms have struck Pakistan's coastal areas. The years involved were 1895, 1902, 1907, 1944, 1948, 1964, 1985, 1999, 2007 and 2010. Other cyclones that are listed below caused rains as remnants.

Systems

Pre-1900

*10 July 1894 – A land depression moved westward through India, entering current-day Pakistan at Sindh. *18 June 1895 – A cyclonic storm hit the

Makran Makran (), also mentioned in some sources as ''Mecran'' and ''Mokrān'', is the southern coastal region of Balochistan. It is a semi-desert coastal strip in the Balochistan province in Pakistan and in Iran, along the coast of the Gulf of Oman. I ...

coast in

province.

1900–1949

*3 May 1901 – Originating off the southwest coast of India, a cyclone passed near Oman before making landfall along Balochistan. The storm moved through the country and dissipated on 5 May. *13 May 1902 – A cyclonic storm struck the coast in the vicinity of Karachi. *21 June 1906 – After moving across India, a storm crossed into Pakistan. *June 1907 – A tropical storm struck the coast near Karachi. *3 September 1926 – A storm moved from Gujarat into Pakistan. *30 June 1936 – A storm moved from India into Pakistan. *2 July 1936 – A tropical cyclone moved through southeastern Pakistan. *15 July 1936 – A depression moved off the coast of Pakistan. *27 July 1944 – A

cyclone In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an ant ...

left some 10,000 people homeless in Karachi. *8 June 1948 – Moving ashore near

Pasni Pasni may refer to: * Pasni (celebration) - a Nepalese name for Annaprashana, a child weaning ceremony in Hinduism. * Pasni (city) - a coastal settlement in Gwadar District, Balochistan, Pakistan. ** Pasni Tehsil - an administrative subdivision of ...

along the Makran, a storm brought rainfall to Balochistan and Sindh.

1950–1999

*12 June 1964 – A cyclone made landfall in

Tharparkar Tharparkar (Dhatki language, Dhatki/; , ), also known as Thar, is a district in Sindh province in Pakistan, headquartered at Mithi. Before Indian independence it was known as the Thar and Parkar (1901⁠–⁠1947) or Eastern Sindh Frontier Distr ...

and Hyderabad district in

province. It killed 450 people and left some 400,000 people homeless. *

1970 Bhola Cyclone The 1970 Bhola cyclone (also known as the Great Cyclone of 1970) was a catastrophic and extremely deadly tropical cyclone that struck East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh) and India's West Bengal on 12 November 1970. It remains the deadliest t ...

hit

East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...

killing thousands. *May 1985 – A cyclonic storm made a landfall in the eastern direction of Karachi. The cyclonic storm in 1985 which was moving towards Karachi actually had weakened over the sea while still a few 100 Kilometers away south of Karachi. *16 November 1993 – A cyclone dissipated near the Sindh-Gujarat border. However it caused massive rainfall and flooding in Karachi but Thatta and Badin districts were the worst affected where the cyclone killed 609 people and displaced some 200,000 others. *9 June 1998 – Striking Gujarat in neighboring India, a

electrocuted 12 people in Pakistan. *20 May 1999 – The strongest cyclone to hit Pakistan moved ashore near

Keti Bandar Keti Bandar () is a historical port town in Thatta District, Sindh, Pakistan. Keti Bandar is also the name of one of the taluka A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Paki ...

at Category 3 intensity on the Saffir–Simpson scale. It killed 6,200 people in the country. At least $1 million in relief funds was to be supplied by the government.

2000–present

*May 2001 – More than 100,000 people evacuated in southeastern Pakistan due to the threat from a powerful cyclone in the Arabian Sea. The storm struck Gujarat as a weakened cyclone on 29 May. *1 October 2004 –

Cyclone Onil Severe Cyclonic Storm Onil was the first tropical cyclone to be named in the northern Indian Ocean. Forming out of an area of convection several hundred kilometres southwest of India on October 1 2004, Cyclone Onil quickly attained its peak ...

became the first named storm in the Indian Ocean, and meandered for several days off the coast of Gujarat. In Pakistan, Onil brought heavy rainfall and gusty winds. In Karachi, nine people died from the storm, as flooded streets and power outages contributed to at least two electrocution deaths. *June 2007 – Powerful

Cyclone Gonu Super Cyclonic Storm Gonu was an extremely powerful tropical cyclone that became the strongest cyclone on record in the Arabian Sea. The second named tropical cyclone of the 2007 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Gonu developed from a pe ...

remained well southwest of Pakistan, but it still produced heavy rainfall and strong winds in the city of Gwadar in Balochistan, where it caused damage to dozens of boats and school buildings in the area. It also caused high winds with light rainfall in Karachi and other coastal areas. *23 June 2007 –

Cyclone Yemyin Deep Depression BOB 03 and Cyclonic Storm Yemyin (JTWC designation: ''03B'') were a pair of deadly tropical cyclones that made landfalls on India and Pakistan in June 2007. The Pakistan Meteorological Department referred to both as Tropical Cyclo ...

, which developed over the

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. Geographically it is positioned between the Indian subcontinent and the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese peninsula, located below the Bengal region. Many South Asian and Southe ...

and intensified into a cyclone over the Arabian Sea, killed 200 people alone in Karachi city due to heavy rainfall and intense windstorms as it was moving towards Balochistan province. It made landfall near the towns of

Ormara Ormara ( Balochi and , ), is a town and tehsil in Gwadar District in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. It is a port in the Makran coastal region. It is located west of Karachi and east of Gwadar on the Arabian Sea. This port is also menti ...

and

in the Balochistan province on 26 June where it killed 300 people. Overall it killed 730 people and affected the lives of 2 million people in Pakistan making it the third deadliest cyclone in the history of the country. *In November 2009, remnants of

Cyclone Phyan Cyclonic Storm Phyan developed as a tropical disturbance to the southwest of Colombo in Sri Lanka on November 4, 2009. Over the next couple of days, the disturbance gradually developed before weakening as it made landfall on Southern India on No ...

caused gusty winds along the Sindh coast including Karachi. However six Pakistani fishermen were trapped in the storm later rescued by the

Indian Navy The Indian Navy (IN) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Navy, maritime and Amphibious warfare, amphibious branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of the Naval Staff (India), Chief ...

. *6 June 2010 –

Cyclone Phet Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Phet () was a powerful tropical cyclone that made landfall on Oman, Western India, and Pakistan. The third named cyclone of the 2010 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, 2010 cyclone season, Phet developed in the Arab ...

made landfall near Karachi as a depression, having earlier dropped heavy rainfall along the Makran coast.

recorded of rainfall, which damaged 10,000 houses, and disrupted portions of the

Makran Coastal Highway The N-10 or National Highway 10 (Urdu: ) is a 653 km national highway in Pakistan which extends along Pakistan's Arabian Sea coast from Karachi in Sindh province to Gwadar in Balochistan province. It passes the towns of Ormara and Pasni ...

. Phet killed at least 18 people in Pakistan – 11 by electrocution, and 7 due to collapsed walls. The storm also injured dozens of others and left thousands of Pakistanis homeless. Damage was estimated at RS7 billion (US$80 million). *November 9 - 12, 2010 - The remnants of

Cyclone Jal Severe Cyclonic Storm Jal was the fifth named cyclonic storm and the fourth Severe Cyclonic Storm of the 2010 North Indian Ocean cyclone season. Jal developed from a low-pressure area in the South China Sea that organized into a Tropical Depression ...

impacted Pakistan. *18 May 2021 – Cyclone Tauktae's landfall in Gujarat caused a roof to collapse in Karachi by a severe dust storm, killing four people in the city. *30 September 2021 – A developing depression – later named Shaheen – produced gusty winds and rainfall in Karachi. A person died in

Orangi Orangi () is a town in the western part of Karachi, Pakistan, with a population of 596,919 as of the 2023 census. Orangi was developed as a planned settlement in 1972 by the Karachi Development Authority (KDA) to provide affordable housing f ...

from electrocution. *15 June 2023 -

Cyclone Biparjoy Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm Biparjoy () was a powerful and erratic tropical cyclone that formed over the east-central Arabian Sea. The third depression and the second cyclonic storm of the 2023 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Biparjoy origi ...

just made landfall on the border of Pakistan and India.

Climatological statistics

References

External links

Pakistan Meteorological Department
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tropical Cyclones And Tornadoes In Pakistan 01

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

Climate of Pakistan Environment of Pakistan Tropical cyclone meteorology Weather events in Pakistan