Meteorologists have clarified that the recent catastrophic floods in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were not the result of a cloudburst, but rather the collision of two rain systems that triggered unusually heavy rainfall.
According to Syed Mushtaq Ali Shah, former Chief Meteorologist at the PMD, two separate weather systems entered KP on August 15, 2025—one from the west and another from the east. Their convergence caused record-breaking rains in Buner and nearby districts, leading to floods that claimed over 200 lives and injured more than 120 people.
“A cloudburst is a highly localized event with sudden rainfall of nearly 100mm in a confined area,” Shah explained. “Nothing of this sort was recorded during the KP disaster.”
Another PMD official, Irfan Virk, agreed, adding that while micro-level cloudbursts can sometimes go undetected by radar, official readings did not reflect such activity. Instead, he pointed to climate change and widespread deforestation as major contributors that worsened flooding through soil erosion and reduced natural absorption of rainwater.
The experts urged people to stop mislabeling the incident as a cloudburst on social media, warning that misinformation only spreads confusion and fear. They emphasized the urgent need for climate adaptation policies and scientific flood prevention measures to protect vulnerable regions of Pakistan.