Pakistan braces for week-long monsoon rains and flood, glacial lake outburst alerts

Pakistan’s weather authorities forecast the country’s first organized monsoon spell of the season from July 1‑6, bringing widespread rain, thunderstorms and localized flash floods across Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Sindh, Gilgit‑Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The Pakistan Meteorological Department warned that “the first organized spell of the Monsoon rainfall is expected to establish over Pakistan during the first week of July,” with heavy downpours possible in Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Murree, Peshawar, Swat, Chitral and numerous districts of Gilgit‑Baltistan.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) issued an advisory for pre‑monsoon rains from June 28‑July 3, highlighting heightened risks of glacier melt, flash floods, landslides and glacial‑lake‑outburst floods (GLOFs). Alerts were posted for high‑risk districts such as Hunza, Nagar, Ghizer, Skardu, Chitral and Swat, urging residents and travellers to avoid rivers, streams and glacial lakes.

A severe cloudburst in Diamer’s Thore Valley triggered flash floods that destroyed homes, orchards and infrastructure, displaced dozens of families and cut off road links. Relief teams distributed tents and food while authorities worked to restore access. The combined weather warnings underscore the potential for extensive flooding and landslides as temperatures remain high and snow melt accelerates.