This summer hasn’t begun on a searing note. As much as the consistently — not to say, unusually — low mercury levels and frequent showers in the month of April have meant pleasant weather for the common people, it didn’t seem to augur well for the wheat crops typically harvested during this season.

Wheat is one of the main food crops of Pakistan. Like all flora, its growth is contingent upon favourable climate; any change can result in a poor yield. The ideal moisture level for wheat harvesting is estimated to be 12 percent. Precipitation beyond that point can result in premature germination, and can also lead to attack from fungi.

Mercifully, the harvest so far this year hasn’t been bad, despite irregular sunny days and the outbreak of desert locusts early this year. However, where one issue was settled, another reared its ugly head. In village Lambray Chorra, in Murdike, wheat crop worth millions of rupees was recently destroyed by a deadly fire that erupted in the fields as a result of sparking from a thresher. According to reports, Rescue 1122 reached the scene and saved a major part of the crop.