Karachi receives moderate to heavy rain

Commuters face severe traffic jams in part of the metropolis

KARACHI: The provincial capital was washed by moderate to heavy rainfall Wednesday afternoon.

According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), the rainfall resulted due to the monsoon system present in Sindh which is expected to lose intensity today (Thursday).

Before the rainfall, Karachi had been experiencing severe heat and humidity for the last 24 hours due to the sudden absence of sea breeze.



On Wednesday, clouds started to gather over the city in the afternoon and it rained until the evening.

PMD Spokesperson Dr Abdul Rashid said the system is still over the city, due to which more rain is expected.

The rain resulted in traffic jams and disruptions in power supply. PHOTO: ONLINE

Sharing the data of rainfall across the city, Dr Rashid said Landhi received 55 millimetres (mm) of rainfall, whereas 20mm rainfall was recorded at the airport. Nazimabad and Sindh Industrial Trading Estate received 18mm and 22mm rainfall respectively.

Many key arteries of the city including Sharae Faisal, MA Jinnah Road, II Chundrigar Road and Korangi Road faced severe traffic jams after the rain. Traffic signals at some places were also reported to have stopped working. In a statement, the traffic department said all the traffic personnel were on the ground to assist commuters during the traffic jam due to the rain.



According to K-Electric (K-E), around 100 feeders were affected out of the utility's total 1,600 feeders. Restoration work was initiated immediately by the emergency response teams and affected feeders were restored swiftly, the utility claimed.

"The K-Electric helpline and ground teams continue to work round the clock to address any localised faults. K-E continues to urge the public to stay away from broken wires, poles and transformers during rainy and windy weather," said the spokesperson.