3.2.1. Temperature

Heat waves mostly tend to associate high temperatures in Pakistan with the summer months at any time between April and September. Temperatures exceeding 50 ◦C were common in parts of southern Pakistan, where they wreak havoc in these areas. The recordbreaking heat wave of summer 2010 that occurred in the final ten days of May was the deadliest heat wave in Pakistan's history. The north-central region of Pakistan (Punjab and KPK) was scorching hot. In April 2017, regions of southern Pakistan were struck by a severe heat wave, with temperatures reaching 50 ◦C. Cities throughout Pakistan set new April high-temperature records due to this heat wave. In Larkana, Sindh, the highest recorded temperature was 50 ◦C on April 19, breaking the previous record set in April 2000, when the temperature reached 48.5 ◦C. Mohenjo-Daro, Sindh, saw the hottest temperature ever recorded in Asia at 53.5 ◦C on May 26, 2010, while Larkana, Sindh, had the second-hottest temperature ever reported in Asia at 53 ◦C. The intense heatwave of summer 2010 lasted from May 22nd to May 31st, and it caused temperatures to rise beyond 50 ◦C in 12 different cities throughout Pakistan. At least 18 individuals lost their lives on May 27 because of extreme heat in Pakistan, when temperatures reached above 45 ◦C in several regions. In addition, 11 cities saw their highest reported temperatures of 50 ◦C or above during the intense heatwave season, while five locations experienced temperatures of 53 ◦C or higher. Over and beyond the 45 ◦C mark, eleven cities also saw highs of less than 50 ◦C, as illustrated in Figure 2. This breaks the previous record set at Jacobabad, Pakistan, on 12 June 1919, when the temperature reached 52.8 ◦C, setting a new Asian record.

**Figure 2.** Extreme temperature events in Pakistan with varying ranges of temperature. (**a**) Temperature ≥50 ◦C; (**b**) temperature ≥40 ◦C and <50 ◦C; (**c**) temperature ≤0 ◦C; (**d**) all the regions in Pakistan in which extreme temperature events occurred.

Most cold waves happen between October and March, when temperatures drop significantly in northern and western Pakistan. The glacial regions of Gilgit Baltistan, where winter temperatures can drop below −20 ◦C, may be Pakistan's coldest spot. Temperatures of −65 ◦C have been recorded on K2. Recently, Pakistan saw the worst cold wave on record during the winter of 2020. Cities such as Islamabad, Peshawar, and Lahore on the foothills of the Himalayas may record temperatures below freezing, while even the warmest areas in Pakistan had temperature drops of 2 ◦C or more.
