What's on in Karachi, Pakistan through the year

Busy — Winter season, school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it

• Holiday

  Ramadan nights

  18 Feb – 19 MarRamadan & EidClosuresCrowded

  Daytime eating places close and the city moves wholesale to after sunset: Burns Road working until three, traffic at two in the morning, offices on short hours. Sehri here is a meal out rather than a private one. Source ↗

Still on: Green turtle nesting (1 Sep – 31 Jan (usually)), Winter season (15 Nov – 28 Feb)

Peak crowds — Ramadan nights, Winter season

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Ramadan nights (18 Feb – 19 Mar), Winter season (15 Nov – 28 Feb)

Busy — Ramadan nights, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Ramadan nights (18 Feb – 19 Mar)

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in April.

Busy — Eid al-Adha, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Hazard

  Heat when the sea breeze drops

  1 May – 25 Jun · usuallyExtreme heat

  The dangerous weeks are the ones the sea breeze fails and the humidity stays; the 2015 heatwave killed more than a thousand people in the city under exactly that pattern. Power cuts make indoors worse than out. Source ↗

• Holiday

  Eid al-Adha

  1 May – 5 Jun · usuallyRamadan & EidClosuresCrowdedBook early

  Eid al-Adha brings three or more days of public holiday. Livestock markets spring up in the weeks before, many businesses close for the first days, and roads, buses and flights are packed as families travel home or take trips to the hills. Source ↗

Peak crowds — Eid al-Adha, Muharram and Ashura

• Holiday

  Muharram and Ashura

  1 Jun – 15 Jul · usuallyMuharram & AshuraClosuresCrowded

  Ashura brings very large processions through the old city and the route is sealed for two days, with mobile networks routinely suspended along it. The date moves about eleven days earlier each year. Source ↗

Still on: Heat when the sea breeze drops (1 May – 25 Jun (usually)), Eid al-Adha (1 May – 5 Jun (usually))

Busy — Muharram and Ashura, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

• Hazard

  Urban flooding

  1 Jul – 31 Aug · usuallyFlood season

  A single heavy spell puts the underpasses and half the main arteries under water and takes the grid down with them. Drainage in the older districts cannot cope, and people are stranded for hours rather than minutes. Source ↗

Still on: Muharram and Ashura (1 Jun – 15 Jul (usually))

Busy — Independence Day, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

• Holiday

  Independence Day

  13–14 AugNational holidayClosuresCrowded

  14 August is a public holiday. Streets, cars and markets are hung with green-and-white flags, fireworks go off at midnight, many businesses close, and crowds and traffic build in city centres and at hill resorts through the evening. Source ↗

Still on: Urban flooding (1 Jul – 31 Aug (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Nature

  Green turtle nesting

  1 Sep – 31 Jan · usually

  Green turtles come ashore at Sandspit and Hawke's Bay through these months and the wildlife department runs hatchling releases after dark. It happens twenty minutes from a city of twenty million, which is the remarkable part.

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: Green turtle nesting (1 Sep – 31 Jan (usually))

Busy — Winter season

• Season

  Winter season

  15 Nov – 28 FebDry seasonCrowded

  The sea breeze steadies, the wedding season starts and the city eats outdoors again. Beach huts at Hawke's Bay are gone by Thursday for the weekend, and it is the only stretch when walking anywhere is reasonable.

Still on: Green turtle nesting (1 Sep – 31 Jan (usually))

Busy — Winter season, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in December.

Still on: Green turtle nesting (1 Sep – 31 Jan (usually)), Winter season (15 Nov – 28 Feb)