At least 35 people died while dozens more were injured as freezing rain and unexpected snowfall hit remote areas of Pakistan over the weekend.
Twenty-two children were among the fatalities, many of whom were crushed in landslides that buried their homes, disaster management authorities said.
The extreme weather hit Pakistan’s northern and western regions, clogging roads and damaging hundreds of houses.
Experts were surprised by the snow as Pakistan is typically mild in March.
Mushtaq Ali Shah, a former director of the country’s meteorological department, attributed the unusual conditions to climate change.
He added that a light hail storm that lasts “for a few moments” would not be as surprising, but it is unusual for that to continue for over 30 minutes.
According to BBC Meteorologist Chris Fawkes, a westerly disturbance has been moving across Afghanistan, Pakistan and north-west India over recent days bringing extreme cold, heavy snow and torrential rain.
It has taken locals by surprise.
Hajit Shah, a resident of Kirk district in the north-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, said that he had experienced snow in his neighbourhood only once before.
“As far as I can remember, there was light snowfall for a few minutes about 25 or 30 years ago,” he told the BBC.
The heavy rains completely destroyed at least 150 houses and partially damaged 500 others, mostly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the south-western Balochistan province, authorities said.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-68476139