KARACHI: Authorities in Pakistan’s Punjab province on Friday declared the 2025 monsoon season officially over, saying floodwaters that had surged through major rivers in late August were now receding, after one of the deadliest and most destructive monsoons in the country’s history.
The disaster has left at least 1,006 people dead nationwide since the monsoon season began on June 26, including 123 deaths in Punjab since Aug. 26, the worst spell of the season, according to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA). In total, nearly 300 people have been killed in Punjab since the start of the monsoons.
More than 44.7 million people in Punjab alone have been affected by the rains and deluges, while crops on 2.48 million acres of farmland and nearly 1,800 livestock are lost.
The scale of destruction has reinforced fears of long-term food insecurity in Pakistan’s breadbasket province.
“Today, I inform you from PDMA Punjab that our monsoon practically is almost over now and now no strong or even weak system is forecasted for the next week,” DG PDMA Punjab Irfan Ali Kathia told reporters on Friday.
