Islamabad sits on the Indus River plain in Pakistan’s heartland, where a hot semi-arid climate concentrates most of the year’s rainfall into the summer monsoon season from July through September.
Pakistan’s planned capital sits at the foot of the Margalla Hills, whose runoff can send heavy monsoon rain into the city’s streams quickly. The catastrophic 2010 and 2022 floods, both triggered by exceptionally intense monsoon rainfall combined with river discharge from further upstream, remain the reference events for how quickly this densely populated plain can flood, and Pakistan’s Meteorological Department relies heavily on radar during monsoon season. Learn more: Flash Flood Warning Signs on Radar · Open the full Rain Map