Showers expected to raise water level in reservoirs

Mangla, Tarbela are presently at dead water

ISLAMABAD: A new spell of showers is likely to begin from Sunday and is expected to help improve the water level in two major water reservoirs which have been at dead level since February 22.

Pakistan Meteorological Department has predicted that a moderate westerly wave is likely to enter in the western parts of the country from Sunday and likely to impact the central and upper parts of the country on Monday.

Temperatures are likely to drop by two-to-three degrees in the central and upper parts of the country. There has been a sudden rise in the temperature and insufficient rainfall in much of the country has sparked water woes and discomfort.

According to the Meteorological office, the sporadic thundershowers with stormy winds are expected at scattered places in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), northern Punjab, Islamabad, Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) from Sunday to Tuesday. The system may persist over Malakand division, G-B and Kashmir until Wednesday.



Moreover, the rain is also expected at isolated places in Northeast Balochistan, and central and southern Punjab from Sunday to Tuesday. Showers are also expected in upper Sindh which includes Sukkur and Larkana divisions on Sunday or Monday. Dust storm or hailstorm is also expected in plain areas of Punjab, K-P and upper Sindh during the period.

Indus River System Authority (IRSA) spokesman Khalid Rana told The Express Tribune it is expected that there will be a good amount of rainfall in the catchment area from Sunday onwards. “Therefore it is expected that these showers will help to increase the water level in Mangla Dam and Tarbela Dam, which are both currently at dead level,” he said.