Lightning and heavy rains have killed at least 36 people, mostly farmers, across Pakistan in the past three days, officials said.

Authorities in the country’s south-west have declared a state of emergency during the heavy rainfall.

Most of the deaths occurred when lightning struck farmers harvesting wheat and rains caused houses to collapse in eastern Punjab province, said Arfan Kathia, a spokesman for the provincial disaster management authority. He said more bad weather is expected this week.

Rains, which also lashed the capital Islamabad, killed seven people in south-western Baluchistan province over the weekend, and eight others died in north-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan. Authorities in Baluchistan declared a state of emergency.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in televised remarks that he had ordered authorities to provide relief aid in regions hit by rains.

Pakistan’s water reservoirs would improve because of the rains, he said, while expressing concern over the deaths and damage.

Rafay Alam, a Pakistani environmental expert, said that such heavy April rainfall is unusual.

He said: “Two years ago, Pakistan witnessed a heat wave in March and April and now we are witnessing rains and it is all of because of climate change, which had caused heavy flooding in 2022.”

That year, downpours had swelled rivers and at one point inundated one-third of Pakistan, killing 1,739 people and billions of dollars of damage.