Weather tracker: Unseasonal storms hit parts of Pakistan and India | South and central Asia

While unseasonably rainy weather hit southern Pakistan and northwestern India on Wednesday, heavy rain from the west was accompanied by thunderstorms, hail and strong winds.

Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, was particularly badly hit, locally recording more than 50 mm of rain and winds of up to 60 miles per hour. Walls, buildings and pedestrian bridges collapsed due to flooding and power outages throughout the city. At least 18 people died and many others were injured, mostly due to structural collapse; Other deaths were caused by a fallen tree and lightning strikes.

Storms were less severe in the neighboring Indian states of Gujarat and Rajasthan; While most areas did not receive more than 15 mm of rainfall, Rajkot city recorded 38 mm of storm. But disruption was still felt, with some power outages as well as minor damage to trees and buildings. Of greater concern is the impact on local agriculture, with farmers expressing concern about crop damage and disruption to the upcoming harvest.

Heavy rain is rare in the region at this time of year; The majority of annual rainfall occurs between June and September during the monsoon season. The average rainfall in Karachi for March is 15.7 mm, and this month is generally one of the driest months in northwest India: most of Gujarat generally averages less than 1 mm, and large parts of Rajasthan average no more than 5 mm.

Meanwhile, much of the western United States has been hit by an intensifying heat wave throughout this week, with temperatures expected to peak on Friday and Saturday. This heat wave was caused by a meandering jet stream and a nearly constant area of ​​high pressure. These two atmospheric anomalies caused the flow of warm air from the south to become trapped and become increasingly warmer due to clear skies and the air being heated by the sun. This effect is also called a heat dome.

Maximum temperatures will exceed 30°C in the southwest, about 10-15°C above the seasonal average. Thursday saw temperatures rise to 42.2C in Indio, California, and March records were broken at many stations.

Phoenix, Arizona is expected to see temperatures above 40C for three consecutive days from Thursday to Saturday. This would break the city’s March record and perhaps even surpass its April record in the process.

Denver, Colorado, is forecast to top 30C on Saturday; This is almost 20C above average temperatures for this time of year. This heat wave is expected to continue into next week and spread eastward, subjecting much of the United States to exceptionally hot weather by the middle of next week.