served as the traditional northern boundary of Sindh. Climate Sukkur has a hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification BWh), characterised by extremely hot and hazy summers with warm winters. Sukkur is known for its extremely hot summers, and was described as the hottest city in British India. Wind speed is low throughout the year, and sunshine is abundant. Summer temperatures regularly surpass . Dry heat is experienced starting April to early June until the Monsoon season starts to arrive. Monsoons in Sukkur are not very wet, but bring high dew points, resulting in high heat indices. Monsoons recede by September, but it is not until late October that the short lived autumn season is experienced before the onset of the region's cool winters. The average annual rainfall of Sukkur is and mainly occurs in the monsoon season. The highest annual rainfall ever is , recorded in 2022 and the lowest annual rainfall ever is 0 mm in 1941. Demography Sukkur is the third largest city in Sindh after Karachi and Hyderabad. The population of Sukkur is 551,357 according to the 2017 Census of Pakistan. Around 70% of the population speaks Sindhi natively, while 20% of the population speaks Urdu natively. Roughly 96% of the city is Muslim, while the remaining 4% comprise other minorities, overwhelmingly Hindus. Economy Sukkur's economy is largely reliant upon the agricultural produce from northern Sindh's farms, and serves as a trading and processing center for agricultural goods. The city also once had a bustling shipbuilding industry. Sukkur is well-connected to the rest of Pakistan by road and rail, which in turn has attracted new industries such as chemical manufacturing, metalworking, and cement manufacturing. Agriculture Sukkur had a large fertile and cultivable land area. During kharif, rice, bajra, cotton, tomatoes and peas are cultivated; whereas during rabi the main crops are wheat, barley, graham and melons. Sukkur is famous, world over, for its dates. Sukkur also has a large Riveraine forest along the course of the Indus. These tropical forests are found within the protective embankments on either side of the Indus. During 1997–98 the total area under forests was which yielded of timber and of firewood besides other mine products. Transportation Road The city will be connected to Multan by M-5 motorway, with onwards motorway connections to Lahore, Islamabad, and Peshawar. Sukkur will also be connected to Hyderabad by the M-6 motorway, with onwards connections to