What Do You Know About Rainfall In Pakistan?

Pakistan suffers from a general deficiency of rainfall. In the plains, annual averages range from 5" in the northern parts of the lower Indus plain to 35" in the Himalayan sub-mountain region. It is monsoon in origin and takes place in the summer, occasionally light rain follow the dust storms which usually take place early in the warm season. Baluchistan is the driest part of Pakistan with an average of 8". With Baluchistan, the annual average is reduced to 2" in the desert of Kharan.

On the southern ranges of the Himalayas, 50" of precipitation takes place, while in the lee of these mountains the rainfall is hardly six inches (in Gilgit and Balistan). Rainfalls also occur from Western Cyclonic disturbances originating in the Mediterranean; it is appreciable in the western mountains and the immediate fore lying areas. Here the rainfall average ranges from 10" to 30".

The contribution of these western disturbances to the rainfall over the plains is about 1.5". A large part of the precipitation in the northern mountains system is in the form of snow which feeds the rivers. Due to low rainfall and high diurnal ranges of temperature, In Pakistan, the humidity is considerably reduced. Only the coastal strip has high humidity.