The Spread of Monsoon Rain in Pakistan

The rainfall in Pakistan caused by the monsoon system is highly unpredictable, variable and unreliable, causing flooding in some years and severe droughts in others.

When we get a general picture of the rainfall of a monsoon, the first thing we notice is the unreliability of the rain in that country. Only a very narrow strip of land cover stations such as Lahore, Sialkot, Islamabad, Muzaffarabad, Murree, Abbotabad and Rawalakot receives steady rainfall. Otherwise, 90 percent of Pakistan will miss either the monsoon rains or very different precipitation, which leads to flooding, especially in the southern city of Karachi.

The outer Himalayas, including the stations of Murree and Kashmir, has more than 50 inches of rainfall. Then turn to Islamabad / Rawalpindi stations and the Piedmontese plains of Punjab, including Sialkot. Central Punjab, including Lahore, receives 15-20. Below Lahore to the coast there is generally no significant rainfall. Also west of Lahore, the monsoon rain is reducing to less than half the amount within 100 miles of Lahore. Throughout South and West Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and KPK (with the exception of the mountainous areas where the monsoon rains) there is very little rainfall. The amount they receive is 1-5 inches, which is agronomically not important. The extreme west of Baluchistan, near the Iranian border, the southeast of Punjab and the western Sind near the Indian border are practically deserts.

Just as the monsoon winds can not cross the high mountain barriers in northern Pakistan, stations such as Chitral, Gilgit, Chillas, Hunza, Skardu are virtually dry to the Khunjarab Pass and are completely out of the pale monsoon system. There are even sand dunes in Gilgit that clearly show the lack of rainfall.

For the variability of a Pakistani monsoon, the example of Lahore will suffice. This station usually gets 15 inches of rainfall from a monsoon. In August 1996, more than 30 cm fell in 24 hours! - So different is the monsoon rain in Pakistan. The above example clearly shows that such floods not only damage crops but also cause urban flooding that leads to damage to life and property.

In short, the above discussion shows that except for a narrow strip in northeastern Pakistan containing mountain stations facing the monsoon wind direction, no rain of agricultural importance is received in Pakistan.

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