CLIMATE OF PAKISTAN

WEATHER
Weather refers, generally, to day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity.

CLIMATE
Climate is the term for the average atmospheric conditions over longer periods of time (30 years).

FACTORS AFFECTING TEMPERATURE

Angle of Sun
✓ Temperature is dependent either directly or indirectly on the influence of the sun.
✓ As it is evident the Polar Regions or regions far away from the Equator are generally cooler than
the ones nearer the Equator. This is because for solar radiation to reach the poles and heat them
it has to travel a larger distance in space; thus, it loses its intensity (energy).
✓ Also, near the poles the radiation arrives at an oblique angle so solar energy spreads over a
large area. Since Pakistan lies in subtropical areas it does receive most of intense solar radiation
concentrated on a small area thus the temperature in general is warmer. So in general terms
Faisalabad will be cooler than say Hyderabad

Influence of large water bodies

✓ Water has a high specific heat capacity as compared to land, meaning that water has to absorb
more heat to have an increase in temperature as compared to land.
✓ Thus, land gets hotter quickly than sea etc.
✓ Since the land gets hot quickly, the air over it also absorbs heat and gets less dense.
✓ This hot air rises and creates a low pressure.
✓ The sea on the other hand absorbs less heat and moist air over it gets less hot.
✓ Thus, it is denser as compared to the air over land and doesn’t rise as much as the air over land
does, which results in the persistence of high pressure over the sea.
✓ Winds travel from high pressure area to low pressure area, thus in this case wind blows from sea
towards land.
✓ This is known as a sea breeze, which is cool and moist
✓ On the contrary at night when there is no solar radiation, the land looses heat quickly and air
over it gets cooler and denser.
✓ The sea retains its heat and air over it is generally hotter and less dense.
✓ So a land breeze occurs when wind blows from land to sea
✓ During the summers, the land is much hotter than the Arabian Sea, thus convection currents of
air are setup. Cool air from sea flows inland thus regulating the temperature and making
summers a bit cooler than it would have been without the influence of the sea
✓ In winters, the sea retains its warmth and thus cold air from coastal areas flows towards sea. To
replace the air in coastal areas whose rising has created a low pressure, dry warm air from
interior Sindh and Punjab flows towards the coast, thus making winters less cold than they would
have been without the influence of the sea
✓ If an area doesn’t experience moderating effect of sea, then it has a continental climate, which
is characterized by hot summers and cold winters. USUALLY THOUGH NOT ALL THE TIMES,
most of the rainfall in these continental climate areas occurs in the winters.

Altitudes
✓ Altitude also has a big impact on the average temperatures experienced by an area.
✓ The solar radiation is a short-wavelength radiation, which does not heat the atmosphere directly
when it passes through it.
✓ This is because it is poorly absorbed by the air particles (gases and water vapours).
✓ Instead, the atmosphere is heated from the bottom by long-wave radiation from the earth's
surface.
✓ The Earth’s surface reflects the short wavelength radiation as long wavelength radiation.
✓ This long wave radiation is better absorbed by gas molecules and water vapours as compared
to the short wavelength radiation.
✓ The temperature of the atmosphere decreases with increase in altitude, as short wavelength has
to pass its heat to a lot of air particles to transfer heat to the high-altitude areas.
✓ Also, as the altitude increases the amount of atmosphere decreases (air gets thinner and
thinner), thus there are less gas molecules and water vapours present to absorb the long
wavelength radiation.
✓ Thus overall, a smaller proportion of the total heat energy is passed on to the higher parts of the
atmosphere
✓ On average dry air loses around 9.8 °C per every Km rise in height, meanwhile moist air loses
around 10 °C for every Km rise in height

Valley
✓ Most of the sun’s rays are blocked from reaching the lower parts of valleys due to the presence
of mountains, which surround the valley.
✓ This lowers the average temperatures of these valleys, as less solar radiation reaches the
surface of the valley to be reflected and then absorbed.

Cloud Cover
✓ Temperatures decrease when clouds appear and block out the Sun’s rays, which are then
reflected back into space.
✓ However cloud formation only takes place when air contains sufficient moisture and has been
sufficiently cooled.
✓ Thus, cloudy days are much cooler than sunny days during the same months.
✓ However cloudy nights are hotter than cloudless nights because the clouds trap heat inside the
Earth’s surface. This heat is easily radiated back to space when no clouds exist but when they
do exist this heat is reflected back onto the Earth’s surface.
✓ These two reasons help us explain why a day in desert is very hot 50°C but night is cool/cold
5°C

MONSOON RAINFALL
✓ Monsoons are seasonal winds that blow from sea towards land from July to August (summers).
✓ After it they reverse their direction and blow from land towards the sea (winters).
✓ During the summers due to the high angle of sun, Punjab and Sindh plains get heated up, thus
an area of very low pressure develops here as the hot air rises.
✓ There are two monsoon systems, one originating from the Bay of Bengal and other from the
Arabian Sea.
✓ During summer low air pressure is developed over Pakistan.
✓ While high air pressure prevails over sea (Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea) so
moist (humid/wet) wind from Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea blow towards land to fulfill the low
air pressure.
✓ Wind from Indian Ocean reaches Pakistan after crossing India called primary monsoon.
✓ Monsoon winds from Arabian Sea are called secondary Monsoon which causes less rain.
✓ These winds cause rain from July to September.
✓ The amount of rain decreases from northern area to Southern areas.
✓ Monsoon of Bay of Bengal affect northern Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan and
Azad Kashmir
✓ On the other hand, another monsoon system that originates in Arabian Sea also travels inland
but doesn’t bring significant rainfall to areas of Sindh because of a temperature inversion layer.

WESTERN DEPRESSION
✓ These are wind systems that originate from the Mediterranean Sea and travel eastwards towards
Afghanistan and Pakistan.
✓ Since they make a long journey, they lose most of their water when they reach Pakistan.
✓ During the winters (Late November to March) they bring rainfall because during winters the
Arabian Sea retains its warmth and thus cold air from coastal areas flows towards sea.
✓ The flow of air from coastal areas creates a low pressure, thus dry colder air from interior Sindh
and Punjab flows towards the coast.
✓ To replace the low pressure formed in Punjab and Sindh plains, these western depressions
move from high pressure area (Mediterranean Sea) towards the low-pressure area (Indus Plains)

CONVECTIONAL RAINFALL
✓ Convection rainfall occurs when the sun heats up the land.
✓ The air near the land absorbs heat by conduction, and thus gets less dense and rises.
✓ The moisture in air condenses to form clouds, and when this air is cooled to a certain minimum
level rainfall occurs.

THUNDERSTORM
✓ Thunderstorms occur in the same fashion as convectional rainfall with the main difference being
that the air here rises very quickly forming Cumulonimbus clouds, which are very tall and big.
✓ This is followed by strong winds, lightning and heavy rainfall.
✓ Hailstones may also be formed, when the water vapours are cooled multiple times (to form water
first and then ice).
 CYCLONE
✓ Cyclones are formed when the average temperature of large water body exceeds 27° C, thus
forming an area of very low pressure.
✓ This area then draws further air from high pressure areas quickly.
✓ A cone is formed when two oppositely travelling cold and warm winds meet.
✓ Intense lightning followed by very strong winds and heavy rainfall occurs.
 FLOODS
✓ Flood is a temporary covering of land by water which is not usually under water.
✓ They can be caused by variety of factors like Heavy monsoon rainfall accompanied with melting
of snow and ice in glaciers, dam or barrage failure, unusually high tides in coastal areas and by
a tsunami
✓ However, their effects can be exacerbated by factors like deforestation, failure to heighten or
strengthen embankments, poor medical and communication facilities in aftermath of disaster
and inadequate warning systems to allow people time for escape.
✓ Benefits of floods are limited to restoring underground water supplies, filling reservoirs of dam
and laying down a fresh layer of silt on the inundated soil; which makes the soil fertile.

Effects
✓ Casualties - People and livestock die due to drowning. It can also lead to epidemics and
waterborne diseases.
✓ Suspension of Trade- Airports can be closed (businessmen can be affected), roads and railway
lines severed causing disruption to supplies of raw materials and products etc
✓ Water supplies can be contaminated.
✓ Spread of water-borne diseases. This could pose a serious danger to health of people who are
affected
✓ Crops can be washed away, thus leading to food shortages.
✓ There could be a shortage of supplies to agro-based industries, like shortage of raw cotton to
cotton factories. These factories thus won’t be able to fulfil their orders and will lose customers.
To reduce their operating costs, they will lay off workers causing unemployment and their own
profits will decrease
✓ Silt deposited by floods adds nutrients to the flooded soil
✓ Trees die as their submerged roots can’t absorb oxygen
✓ There could be a decline in tourism, rebuilding costs could soar etc.

Solution
✓ Dams could be built to contain and regulate the flow of water and prevent flash floods
✓ Advanced warning systems should be installed in flood prone areas to warn people to get out
before it’s too late.
✓ Medical and transport facilities be regularly updated and checked
✓ Embankments and levees should be heightened and strengthened
✓ Also, afforestation and re-afforestation projects should be carried out in Northern Mountains to
reduce run-off and thus reducing chances of flash floods
✓ Mangrove plantations should be protected and allowed to grow, which protect from damaging
rise in tide level during a tsunami.
 DROUGHTS
✓ A drought is a period extending over several months or years when a region suffers a deficiency
in its water supply.
✓ This occurs when a region receives below than average precipitation over a period of time.
✓ Meteorological drought is brought about when there is a prolonged period with less than average
precipitation.
✓ Agricultural droughts are droughts that affect crop production. This condition can also arise
independently from any change in precipitation levels when soil conditions and erosion triggered
by poorly planned agricultural endeavors. These cause a shortfall in water available to the crops.
✓ Hydrological drought is brought about when the water reserves available in sources such as
aquifers, lakes and reservoirs fall below the statistical average.

Effects
✓ Crop yields can be dramatically reduced and livestock production could fall (milk, eat etc). This
can raise prices of goods and affect price of exported goods making them uncompetitive in
international markets thus harming national interests
✓ Dust storms can occur, when drought hits an area suffering from desertification and erosion.
This can lead to siltation in reservoirs of dam, hampering electricity generation and weakening
dam’s foundation
✓ Habitat damage, affecting both terrestrial and aquatic wildlife
✓ Malnutrition, dehydration and related diseases could affect millions
✓ Mass migration causing the increase in internal refugees or international refugees
✓ Reduced electricity production could occur as reduced water flow through hydroelectric dams
leads to low industrial production and less exports resulting in less foreign exchange
✓ Shortages of water for industries like (juice etc.), which affects employment and GDP
✓ Social unrest may follow leading to instability, which can discourage foreign investment thus local
sectors may suffer from outdated machinery techniques etc. resulting in low production
✓ War could occur over natural resources, including lakes and fertile areas etc.
✓ Wildfires can become common and can cause health hazard to people.
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