Heavy monsoon downpours have killed at least 63 people and injured almost 300 others in Pakistan’s Punjab province over the past 24 hours, provincial disaster officials said. Most of the fatalities were recorded in Lahore, Faisalabad, Okara, Sahiwal and Pakpattan, where homes with weak structures collapsed after relentless rain inundated neighbourhoods and triggered flash floods. The National Disaster Management Authority put the nationwide death toll at a minimum of 159 since the seasonal rains began in late June, with more than 1,000 houses damaged. Authorities issued a high-flood alert for the River Jhelum near the northern town of Mangla and warned that adjoining streams could overflow as further downpours are forecast. Punjab’s government declared a "rain emergency" in several districts and deployed army units and helicopters to assist with evacuations and relief operations. Schools and public offices in Rawalpindi and other badly hit cities were closed, and residents in low-lying areas were urged to move to higher ground. Monsoon rains are routine across South Asia but their impact in Pakistan has intensified amid rapid urbanisation, inadequate drainage and more frequent extreme-weather events linked to climate change. The meteorological department expects heavy showers to continue into the weekend, raising concerns of additional flooding in Punjab as well as parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Pakistani-administered Kashmir.