A storm developing in the Arabian Sea prompts Pakistani officials to shut schools in Karachi

A tropical storm developing in the Arabian Sea prompted authorities to shut schools in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, on Friday, as weather forecasters warned fishermen not to venture out to sea.

The storm was 200 kilometers (120 miles) southeast of Karachi on Friday morning, meteorologists said.

No evacuation warnings were issued, but the disaster management authority warned that the storm could cause heavy rains.

A day earlier, a mudslide triggered by heavy monsoon rain hit a house in a remote part of northwestern Pakistan, killing 12 people, mostly children, a rescue official said.

Inayat Ali, an official of the state-run emergency service, said the mudslide happened overnight in Upper Dir in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa near Afghanistan . He said rescuers retrieved the bodies of nine children, two women and a man.

Authorities have warned that ongoing heavy rain, which began last month, could cause landslides and flash floods across Pakistan.

Since July 1, more than 275 people have died in rain-related incidents in various parts of the country. Pakistan’s annual monsoon season runs from July through September. Scientists have blamed climate change for heavier rains in recent years.

In 2022, downpours inundated one-third of the country, killing 1,739 people.