19 killed as rain, storms wreak havoc in Pak after heatwave

Violent weather throws daily life into chaos, disrupts road, air travel, affects walls and roofs, triggers widespread outages in Punjab, KP and Islamabad

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"Destructive" windstorms that raged across central and northern Pakistan after an intense heatwave have killed at least 19 people and injured over IOO more, officials said on Sunday.

The violent weather threw daily life into chaos, grounding flights, snapping power lines, damaging infrastructure, triggering widespread power outages and prompting rain emergencies across multiple urban centres.

Fierce winds, thunder and lightning swept across eastern Punjab and northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provinces as well as the capital Islamabad on Saturday afternoon and evening, uprooting trees and downing electric poles.

In Islamabad and Rawalpindi, the storm marked a dramatic end to an extended heatwave. By late morning, dark clouds engulfed the skies and strong winds swept through the twin cities, followed by heavy rain and hailstorms. Temperatures dropped significantly, and power outages were reported in several areas. A rain emergency was declared in Rawalpindi to manage the aftermath.

While the majority of the deaths were caused by collapsing walls and roofs, at least two people died after being hit by solar panels dislodged by the whipping gusts. One man was killed and three others were injured by lightning strikes.