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September 3, 2025 - Devastating Floods in Pakistan
August 29, 2025
August 22, 2025
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Torrential monsoonal rains triggered widespread and devastating flooding in parts of Pakistan in late August 2025. Punjab, the country’s most heavily populated province, is experiencing its worst monsoon flooding in nearly four decades, according to the United Nations Office for Coordination of Human Affairs (OCHA) Situation Report published September 3 by ReliefWeb. More than 2 million people have been impacted, at least 2,000 villages have been inundated, and widespread destruction of homes and crops have been reported.
Since the onset of the monsoon on June 26, more than 880 people have died across Pakistan and at least 1,176 were reported injured. Both Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provinces have been hit hard, with 216 deaths and 625 injuries in Punjab and 488 deaths and 359 injuries in KP. Deaths have also been recorded in Sindh, Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Pakistan Administered Kashmir. More than 900,000 people and 516,000 livestock have been evacuated in Punjab, with 700 relief camps, 378 medical camps, and 330 veterinary camps operating to assist displaced people and their livestock.
The September 3 OCHA Situation Report advises that, “The situation remains highly fluid and evolving very fast, with reservoirs at full capacity and heavy rainfall forecast in early September. Authorities warn of potential new surges along the Chenab and other rivers in the coming days which are going to impact downstream districts in South Punjab. Response teams remain on high alert through mid-September as the monsoon season is expected to continue until the end of the month.”
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a pair of false-color images, one on August 29 and the second on August 22, that help visualize the rapidly expanding flooding of the Punjab region. In this type of image, water looks blue, vegetation is bright green, open land shows up as tan and clouds are usually white, although high, cold clouds that contain ice may be tinted light electric blue.
The Indus River can be seen near the western (left) edge of the image. To the east of the Indus, three major rivers cut across the Punjab province. The Chenab is the most northerly, the Ravi joins with the Chenab, and the Sutlej is the most southerly. Clicking on the August 22 image shows all four rivers running high and very full. Only one week later, on August 29, the Sutlej, Chenab, and Ravi rivers have widened into exceedingly high flood stage. According to OCHA, this is the first time all three major rivers have reached such extreme levels at the same time.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 8/29/2025
Resolutions:
1km (195.8 KB), 500m (536.9 KB), 250m (712.9 KB)
Bands Used: 7,2,1
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
August 29, 2025 August 22, 2025
Torrential monsoonal rains triggered widespread and devastating flooding in parts of Pakistan in late August 2025. Punjab, the country’s most heavily populated province, is experiencing its worst monsoon flooding in nearly four decades, according to the United Nations Office for Coordination of Human Affairs (OCHA) Situation Report published September 3 by ReliefWeb. More than 2 million people have been impacted, at least 2,000 villages have been inundated, and widespread destruction of homes and crops have been reported.
Since the onset of the monsoon on June 26, more than 880 people have died across Pakistan and at least 1,176 were reported injured. Both Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provinces have been hit hard, with 216 deaths and 625 injuries in Punjab and 488 deaths and 359 injuries in KP. Deaths have also been recorded in Sindh, Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Pakistan Administered Kashmir. More than 900,000 people and 516,000 livestock have been evacuated in Punjab, with 700 relief camps, 378 medical camps, and 330 veterinary camps operating to assist displaced people and their livestock.
The September 3 OCHA Situation Report advises that, “The situation remains highly fluid and evolving very fast, with reservoirs at full capacity and heavy rainfall forecast in early September. Authorities warn of potential new surges along the Chenab and other rivers in the coming days which are going to impact downstream districts in South Punjab. Response teams remain on high alert through mid-September as the monsoon season is expected to continue until the end of the month.”
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a pair of false-color images, one on August 29 and the second on August 22, that help visualize the rapidly expanding flooding of the Punjab region. In this type of image, water looks blue, vegetation is bright green, open land shows up as tan and clouds are usually white, although high, cold clouds that contain ice may be tinted light electric blue.
The Indus River can be seen near the western (left) edge of the image. To the east of the Indus, three major rivers cut across the Punjab province. The Chenab is the most northerly, the Ravi joins with the Chenab, and the Sutlej is the most southerly. Clicking on the August 22 image shows all four rivers running high and very full. Only one week later, on August 29, the Sutlej, Chenab, and Ravi rivers have widened into exceedingly high flood stage. According to OCHA, this is the first time all three major rivers have reached such extreme levels at the same time.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 8/29/2025
Resolutions:
1km (195.8 KB), 500m (536.9 KB), 250m (712.9 KB)
Bands Used: 7,2,1
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
