The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) on Thursday issued a warning of thunderstorms and rain across the upper catchments of major rivers within the next 24 hours, raising fears of worsening floods in the southern Sindh province. The alert comes as the country’s monsoon death toll has surpassed 1,000 since late June, underscoring the severity of the ongoing crisis.

Rivers Overflowing and Villages Inundated

Heavy monsoon rains, combined with excess water released from Indian dams, have caused the Chenab, Ravi, and Sutlej rivers in Punjab province to overflow, inundating more than 4,700 villages in Pakistan’s agricultural heartland. The floods have destroyed standing crops, damaged homes, and displaced millions, forcing the government to launch large-scale rescue and relief operations.

Relief camps have been established across multiple districts, while rescue teams continue evacuations with the support of the Pakistan Army and Navy. Although Punjab’s Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) reported some signs of stabilization, the situation downstream in Sindh remains precarious as floodwaters flow into the Indus River.

Indus River Flood Levels

According to the PMD, flood levels vary across Sindh’s major barrages:

• Guddu Barrage: medium flood

• Sukkur Barrage: high flood

• Kotri Barrage: low flood (expected to remain at medium flood until the end of September)

Elsewhere, the River Sutlej is at medium flood near Ganda Singh Wala, while water levels at Sulemanki and Islam barrages remain low.

The PMD also forecast thunderstorms with light to moderate rainfall in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Gujrat, Gujranwala, Lahore, Peshawar, Kohat, Bannu, Sargodha, Faisalabad, and Zhob. Mostly dry weather is expected across the country after September 19.

At least 300,000 people remain displaced and are living in tents, according to official data. Over 2,000 relief camps are currently operational nationwide, with rescue and aid efforts continuing across Punjab and Sindh.

Pakistan, which contributes only 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions, is among the countries most vulnerable to climate change. The scale of the disaster recalls the catastrophic 2022 floods, which killed 1,700 people, affected 33 million, and caused more than $30 billion in damages.