Heavy Rain, Hailstorm Lash KP, Traffic, Daily Life Disrupted

News Desk

Dir/Swat:  Heavy rain and a fierce hailstorm swept across the Upper Dir and Swat districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on Monday evening, plunging temperatures, damaging crops, and throwing daily life into disarray.

In Upper Dir, torrential downpours combined with hail battered multiple areas, triggering flash floods in local streams and blocking the main GT Road. The intense weather brought sudden darkness as thick clouds enveloped the sky, while erosion along mountain roads left several upper localities cut off. Residents remained confined indoors as the storm raged through the evening.

Standing crops and fruit orchards sustained considerable damage, and numerous vehicles were dented by hail. The district’s power supply system also collapsed after high winds and lightning struck transmission lines, plunging several areas into darkness.

In Swat, similar scenes of chaos unfolded as heavy rain and hail intensified the cold across the valley. In Mingora city, the downpour overwhelmed the drainage system, exposing the inefficiency of the Water and Sanitation Services Company (WSSC). Blocked drains overflowed, spilling rainwater onto main roads and residential streets, leaving commuters stranded.

A lightning strike in Chakdara damaged a 132,000-volt transmission line, disrupting electricity to large parts of the district. According to WAPDA Swat officials, repair work is underway, though no timeline has been announced for full restoration.

Read More: https://thepenpk.com/thunderstorms-snow-likely-in-northern-areas-from-nov-4/

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) had earlier forecast a westerly weather system bringing rain and thunderstorms to upper Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Azad Kashmir between November 4 and 5. The system, the Met Office noted, was likely to produce isolated hailstorms and snowfall over mountain peaks during the same period.

The PMD said the weather disturbance would also bring rain and thunderstorm activity to Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Murree, Lahore, and other parts of Punjab, helping reduce smog and foggy conditions that have persisted for weeks.

Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Director General Irfan Ali Kathia confirmed that temperatures across northern and central Punjab are expected to drop sharply due to the rains, while smog intensity is likely to decline.

However, despite the forecasted relief, Lahore once again topped the global pollution charts on Monday morning, with its Air Quality Index (AQI) soaring to a “hazardous” level of 479 between 8am and 9am. By evening, the city’s AQI remained at alarming levels — recorded at 271 overall, while certain locations such as the CERP Office (521), FF Pakistan (517), and Diamond Paints Industries (433) reported even higher readings.

Meanwhile, Punjab Police launched an intensified crackdown against smog violations. In the past 24 hours, 28 cases were registered, with 396 violators fined over Rs1 million for burning crop residues, running high-emission vehicles, and operating polluting brick kilns and factories.

As winter approaches, the back-to-back bouts of rain, hail, and pollution have once again exposed Pakistan’s fragile climate management systems — from weak urban drainage and electricity networks to limited air-quality control measures — leaving both city dwellers and mountain residents struggling to cope with nature’s growing unpredictability.