Death toll from six weeks of monsoon rains in Pakistan jumps to 154

The death toll from nearly six weeks of monsoon rains and floods across Pakistan has risen to 154, officials said on Thursday, as downpours continued in much of the country, inundating some villages.

More than 1,500 homes have been damaged since July 1, when the monsoon rains began, the National Disaster Management Authority said.

Orchards in remote areas of south-western Baluchistan province were damaged, and rain flooded many streets in the eastern city of Lahore.

The Pakistan-administered portion of the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir has also been battered by rains, causing landslides.

Many of the 154 deaths occurred in the eastern Punjab and north-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, according to the disaster agency and provincial authorities.

Pakistan is in the middle of the annual monsoon season, which runs from July to September. Scientists and weather forecasters blame climate change for heavy rains in recent years.

So far this year, Pakistan has received less rain than in 2022, when climate-induced downpours swelled rivers and inundated at one point one-third of the country, killing 1,739 people and causing 30 billion US dollars (£23.6 billion) in damage.