The Met Office has categorically rejected “unverified claims” on social media and mainstream media about the likelihood of an extremely cold winter in Pakistan in the coming days. According to a statement issued on Tuesday, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said that these claims are not supported by the winter seasonal forecast for the December-January-February period nor by the prevailing regional and global climate indicators. Furthermore, observational data recorded by the PMD to date do not corroborate these claims. In particular, the conditions observed during December are consistent with the PMD’s seasonal outlook for December-January-February 2025-26. He said the PMD outlook, developed using regional and global climate prediction systems supported by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), indicates near-normal or slightly below-normal rainfall, with temperatures expected to remain slightly above normal in most parts of the country. It said observations to date align with this forecast, characterized by overall below-normal rainfall, limited light to moderate rainfall in the western and northwestern regions, and predominantly above-normal temperatures, especially in Gilgit-Baltistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. According to the PMD, the current development of the winter season closely matches the pre-season outlook and does not support claims of extreme winter conditions. “The public and stakeholders are advised to rely on the PMD’s official announcement for accurate, timely and scientifically validated weather and climate information,” the statement added. A day earlier, the PMD said that Karachi port is expected to experience a further drop in temperature over the coming weekend, with the mercury likely to fall to 9 degrees Celsius on Saturday and Sunday. According to PMD spokesperson Anjum Nazir Zaigham, cold conditions will persist during the night and early morning hours for the next few days. He said a noticeable drop in temperature is expected towards the end of the week, when minimum temperatures may reach single digits in some parts of the city. Speaking to The Express PAkGazette, the spokesperson explained that a cold wave was anticipated at the beginning of the week; However, the presence of continuous troughs at altitude over Karachi has prevented Siberian winds from fully penetrating the region. He added that once these winds activate, a further intensification of cold conditions cannot be ruled out.
PDM rules out possibilities of an “extreme winter”
