In April 2017, a severe

heat wave A heat wave, or heatwave, is a period of excessively hot weather, which may be accompanied by high humidity, especially in oceanic climate countries. While definitions vary, a heat wave is usually measured relative to the usual climate in the ...

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 ( ur, , translit=lāṛkāna; sd, لاڙڪاڻو, translit=lāṛkāṇo) 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 Moh ...

, a city in the southern province of

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

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

Multan Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab. Multan is one of the List ...

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 leveled its previous maximum temperature of 46.5 °C recorded on 27 April 1993. In Faisalabad, 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 ( Sindhi: سيوي ur, ) is a city situated in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. The city is the headquarters of the district and tehsil of the same name. Etymology The origin of the town's name is attributed to Rani Sewi, a Hindu la ...

(49 °C) and

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

(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 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 (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

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 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 and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

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 events in Pakistan

Affected areas

Recorded temperatures

See also

References