Pakistan to get warmer next week

ISLAMABAD: The weather in Pakistan will start to get warmer from next week as the temperature is set to cross the 30 degrees Celsius mark by then, according to Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) on Thursday.

While talking to The Express Tribune, PMD Director General Dr Ghulam Rasul said from March 20 (Monday) onwards the temperature will start rising and will cross 30 degrees Celsius in most of the parts of the country.

He said that in Islamabad, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan the temperature will touch 30 degrees Celsius, however in Sindh and some parts of Punjab the mercury will cross 30 degrees Celsius.

“Soon spring will come to an end and a real summer in Pakistan will start in April,” said Dr Rasul.

He further said, however, a few short spells of showers are also expected in the coming days whereas snowfall will be witnessed on the high-rise mountains in the northern areas.

He said the country had experienced a few cold spells due to snowfall, rains coupled with cool breeze which brought the mercury down during the last 15 days.

The impact of climate change on Pakistan is getting stronger every year which is clearly depicted through the squeezing of winter and spring seasons and extension of summer, he said.

Talking more about winter, he said this year Pakistan had a short but good winter season which started in January.

“This year the winter season started in January and continued till the middle of February,” he said.

Though Pakistan had received above normal rainfall in January this year but in February it was less.

“Pakistan had received a good amount of heavy snowfall in the winter of 2017 which in future will help increase the inflow of water into our water reservoirs once it starts melting,” he said.

He said usually in April snow starts melting as the temperature rises.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 17^th, 2017.