KARACHI: The Pakistan Meteorological Department has predicted the temperature in Karachi Division to remain hot but below 40°C.

According to the PMD’s weather forecast till Thursday, “hot and humid” weather is expected to persist on Tuesday, with the maximum temperature forecasted to be between 37–39°C.

Similar conditions will persist on May 6 (Wednesday) and May 7 (Thursday), PMD said in its advisory, when the maximum temperature will be between 36–38°C and 35-37°C, respectively.

As per the forecast, “hot/very hot and dry weather” was likely to prevail over most parts of Sindh.

Meanwhile, K-Electric’s Head of Distribution Operations, Khurram Abdullah, said on Tuesday that there will be no loadshedding in “any areas where the ‘feels-like’ temperature reaches 45°C”.

Addressing a live session from the utility’s Facebook account, he added, “maintenance shutdowns have been suspended due to the heatwave”.

He further stated that illegal connections (kundas) caused overloading, leading to localised faults and accidents.

“Cooperation from residents is essential to resolve local faults,” he said.

A day earlier, the metropolis witnessed its highest temperature since 2018 at 44.1°C accompanied by gusts of continental winds that persisted throughout the day, claiming the lives of at least 10 people.

Despite the record temperature in eight years, it was notable that the “feels-like” temperature did not exceed 40°C due to relatively low humidity.

A PMD official said the maximum temperature recorded in the city on Monday was 44.1°C with 17pc humidity.

Based on current trends and data, he said, the temperature was expected to start declining from Tuesday (today) as dry winds subsided, and would gradually drop further over the week.

The Nati­onal Disaster Manage­ment Authority (NDMA) on Tuesday also issued sweeping emergency protocols and placed hospitals on alert as extreme, above-normal summer temperatures persisted throughout the country.

El Niño conditions are likely to develop during the 2026 monsoon season in South Asia, alongside higher-than-normal minimum and maximum temperatures across most of the region, according to a statement by Pakistan’s meteorological office on Friday.

El Nino is a naturally occurring climate phenomenon that warms surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean. It brings changes in winds, pressure and rainfall patterns. Conditions oscillate between El Nino and its opposite La Nina, with neutral conditions in between.

The last El Nino contributed to making 2023 the second-hottest year on record and 2024 the all-time high.

The climate outlook for the 2026 southwest monsoon season (June to September) was finalised during the 34th session of the South Asian Climate Outlook Forum (Sascof-34) held in Malé, Maldives on Tuesday.

According to the spokesperson of the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), Anjum Nazir Zaighum, and a statement issued by the PMD, below normal rainfall is most likely during the 2026 southwest monsoon season over most parts of South Asia, particularly across the central parts of the region.

“However, some areas over the northwestern, northeastern and parts of the southern region are likely to experience normal to above normal rainfall,” the statement noted.

It highlighted that minimum and maximum temperatures during the upcoming season are expected to be above normal across most of South Asia.

The forum deliberated on various observed and emerging climatic features that influence the performance of the southwest monsoon such as the El Niño Southern Oscillation (Enso), Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), winter and spring Northern Hemisphere (NH) snow cover and land surface temperature anomalies.

Currently, Enso-neutral conditions in the equatorial Pacific are transitioning toward El Niño conditions, the Sascof-34 statement added.

“Based on the global climate model forecasts, there is strong consensus among experts that the El Niño conditions are likely to develop during the 2026 monsoon season,” it added.

It also stated that neutral IOD conditions currently prevail over the Indian Ocean, and that “climate models indicate that a positive IOD phase is likely to emerge later in the monsoon season”.

The statement further noted that global climate prediction models around the spring season “generally have noticeable uncertainty” in their predictability and that the seasonal climate patterns may also be affected by other regional and global factors, as well as the intra-seasonal features of the region.

Experts from the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) of nine South Asian countries attended the forum session, along with representatives from several global and regional climate organisations. These included the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), WMO Regional Climate Centre Pune, Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), United Kingdom Met Office (UKMO), Regional Integrated Multi-hazard Early Warning System, Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), WMO Lead Centre of Seasonal Prediction (WMOLC), Korean Meteorological Administration (KMA), and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, among others.

The PMD spokesperson told Dawn last month that El Niño was expected in the coming summer and was expected to become ‘super El Niño’ by the end of August to September.

He noted that El Niño suppresses the summer monsoon in the subcontinent.

“If super El Niño forms, then 2027 might be the warmest year in records,” Zaighum added.

KARACHI: After throwing out the Karachi Cotton Association (KCA) from the Cotton Exchange building, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) is set to turn the historic structure into its city headquarters, Dawn has learnt.

In December 2025, the FIA and the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB), acting on the orders of the apex court, had claimed to have “recovered” and “vacated” the Karachi Cotton Exchange building situated on I.I. Chundrigar Road, declaring it a federal trust property.

The matter regarding ownership of the building is currently pending adjudication before the Sindh High Court.

Sources said on Tuesday that the FIA and the ETPB had reached an agreement under which the former would pay rent to the latter for use of the premises.

They said that the process of relocation of different sections of the FIA had already begun with the Anti-Corruption Circle had already been moved to the building. The Corporate Crime Circle was in the process of shifting, they added.

An official, requesting anonymity, said the building had an estimated 200 to 300 rooms, which could accommodate all FIA offices in Karachi.

Published in Dawn, April 29th, 2026