referred to as barsat, which brings relief in its wake. The hardest part of the summer is then over, but cooler weather does not come until late October. Recently the province experienced one of the coldest winters in the last 70 years. Punjab's region temperature ranges from −2° to 45 °C, but can reach 50 °C (122 °F) in summer and can touch down to −10 °C in winter. Climatically, Punjab has three major seasons: Hot weather (April to June) when temperature rises as high as . Rainy season (July to September). Average rainfall annual ranges between 96 cm sub-mountain region and 46 cm in the plains. Cold / Foggy / mild weather (October to March). Temperature goes down as low as . Weather extremes are notable from the hot and barren south to the cool hills of the north. The foothills of the Himalayas are found in the extreme north as well, and feature a much cooler and wetter climate, with snowfall common at higher altitudes. Demographics Population The province is home to over half the population of Pakistan, and is the world's fifth-most populous subnational entity, and the most populous outside China or India. Religions According to the 2017 census, the population of Punjab, Pakistan is was 109,989,655. With 107,541,602 adherents, Muslims comprise the largest religious group, with a Sunni Hanafi majority and a Shia Ithna 'ashariyah minority, forming approximately 97.8 percent of the population. The largest non-Muslim minority is Christians with 2,063,063 adherents, forming roughly 1.9 percent of the population. Hindus form 211,641 people, comprising approximately 0.2 percent of the population. The other minorities include Sikhs, Parsis and Baháʼís. Languages The major native language spoken in the Punjab is Punjabi, representing the largest language spoken in the country. Punjabi is recognized as the provincial language of Punjab but is not given any official recognition in the Constitution of Pakistan at the national level. Several languages closely related to Punjabi are spoken in the periphery of the region. In the southern half of Punjab, the majority language is Saraiki, while in the north there are speakers of Hindko and Pothwari. Pashto is also spoken in some parts of Punjab, especially in Attock, Mianwali and Rawalpindi districts. Provincial government The Government of Punjab is a provincial government in the federal structure of Pakistan, is based in Lahore, the capital of the Punjab Province. The Chief Minister of Punjab (CM)