ISLAMABAD: Pakistan received 47pc less rainfall this August than usual with just two weeks remaining until the end of the monsoon, apparently due to climate change. The worst-affected areas in the country were in Sindh and Balochistan.

According to data compiled by the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), overall rainfall between July 1 and Aug 27, 2018, was 28pc below normal. Rainfall was 47pc lower than the average rainfall in August, which an official attributed to the impact of climate change on the country’s temperature pattern.

Met Office data has also shown that July’s rainfall was 12pc below normal, but was above normal in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan and close to normal in Azad Kashmir. Pakistan’s official monsoon stretches from July 1 to Sept 15 and is extended at times.

Sindh saw a massive 87pc decline in rainfall between July 1 and Aug 27. The PMD has reported that while Sindh typically receives 111 millimetres of rain in July and August, the province received just 14.7mm this year. Balochistan saw a 54pc reduction in rainfall; its average in July and August is 51.1mm but it received 23.5mm.

Punjab saw a 9pc decline in rainfall, KP received 4pc less rainfall, AJK received 7pc less rainfall than usual and GB received 6pc less.

The Met Office has also predicted monsoon rainfall is likely to decline further in September.

Published in Dawn, August 28th, 2018