Islamabad:
The main meteorologists are raising the red flags about the growing improper use of the term “cloudburst” in the media and the public discourse of Pakistan.
According to experts, casually labeling each episode of intense monzonic rain as a cloud not only propagates unnecessary fear, but also undermines the severity of genuine warnings.
Officials emphasize that a bubble of clouds is a rare and scientifically defined phenomenon, caused by the orographic effects on the atmosphere, when the air loaded with moisture quickly rises on the mountainous terrain, causing sudden and extremely heavy rains over a small and localized area.
On the contrary, the generalized downpours that currently hit Swat, Buner, Chitral and parts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa are severe, but not technically in the clouds.
The general director of the PMD, MAHR Sahibzad Khan, said that the term “cloudburst” is often badly used, and this leads to confusion.
“A cloudburst is very different from heavy rains. We gave early warnings one month before the beginning of the monsoon, and specifically intimidated on June 23. The tragic Swat incident of June 27 occurred despite the repeated forecasts.”
Mahr Sahibzad Khan explained that the PMD issues appropriate forecasts through a several layer system, first alert with a month in advance, then updating when Monsoon Systems crosses the center of India and enters Sindh and northern Pakistan. Before any severe climate, the department also releases a now in casting, a highly located three -hour prognosis destined to guide local administrations and the public. “These forecasts are only useful if people take them seriously,” he said, adding that the PMD forecast team is calibrated annually in winter to maintain precision. The chief meteorologist, Dr. Afzaal, recalled that a true cloud cloud hit Islamabad in 2001, when 600 mm of rain fell within 10 am, a scale not seen since then. He urged the public to respect official warnings: “Avoid exiting in extreme weather and planning outdoor activities according to forecasts.”
Highlighting the human dimension, DG Khan praised the efforts of the Koran-Uin Wazir, then additional attached commissioner of Nowshera, who went from door to door during the previous floods to persuade families to evacuate. “That is the level of seriousness that we need in the disaster response,” he said.
Astma Jwad Hashmi, director of the National Agrometa Center, also issued a message to the people of the areas affected by the floods: “Keep conscious of the climate reviewing the forecasts regularly. Consciousness and appropriate caution measures are the first line of defense.”
The authorities also caught attention to climate change, noting that the warmest air carries more moisture, which makes Monzón patterns more erratic and dangerous. They referred to global examples of mortal bubbles in Uttarakhand (India), Ladakh and even parts of Europe, emphasizing that Pakistan should be prepared for similar extreme climatic events.
