is anticipated to reach Punjab by May, but since the early 1970s the weather
pattern has been irregular. The spring monsoon has either skipped over the area
or has caused it to rain so hard that floods have resulted. June and July are
oppressively hot. Although official estimates rarely place the temperature
above 46°C, newspaper sources claim that it reaches 51°C and regularly carry reports
about people who have succumbed to the heat. Heat records were broken in Multan
in June 1993, when the mercury was reported to have risen to 54°C. In August
the oppressive heat is punctuated by the rainy season, referred to as
barsat,
which brings relief in its wake. The hardest part of the summer is then over,
but cooler weather does not come until late October.
Recently the province experienced
one of the coldest winters in the last 70 years. Experts are suggesting that
this is due to global climate change.
Punjab's region temperature ranges
from -2° to 45°C, but can reach 47°C (117°F) in summer and can touch down to
-5°C in winter.
Climatically, Punjab has three major
seasons:
Hot weather (April to June) when temperature rises as high
as 110°F.
