June likely to be hotter than usual

Met official says heat may accelerate glacial melt

ISLAMABAD: The first half of June is likely to remain drier and hotter than normal, increasing probability of heatwaves over the plains and coastal areas of Pakistan, a senior Met official said on Friday.

“The first half of June will likely remain drier and hotter than normal,” Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) Director General Dr Ghulam Rasul told The Express Tribune. “This will increase probability of the occurrence of heatwaves in the plains and coastal belt of Pakistan,” he said.



Dr Rasul said intense heat conditions may accelerate glacier melting and trigger glacial lake outburst flood events. He added that due to intense heat, monsoon was expected to arrive early in the second half of June.

Though the mercury continued to rise across the country through May, Dr Rasul said that these temperatures were normal for the month, save for the case of Hyderabad, where it exceeded the previous record of 49 degrees Celsius.

“Apart from Hyderabad, temperatures remained low compared to record high temperatures,” he said. “Even in Sibi and Jacobabad, temperature did not cross the 52 degree Celsius limit, which is the highest recorded temperature for the region in the month of May.”



Talking about the effects of the expected heatwaves, Dr Rasul said sufficient availability of water would mitigate the effects of early rise in temperature on seasonal crops like cotton and sugar cane.

He added that the water flow in rivers and water level in dams was not affected this year due to sufficient quantity of rains this year.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 28^th, 2016.