Monsoon rains to hit Pakistan by end of June

Met office alerts authorities concerned to take measures for water storage accordingly

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has predicted that the monsoon season will start by the end of this month across the country, but pre-monsoon will continue till then.

Meanwhile, in the light of “Outlook of Summer Monsoon 2018” and already prevailing water shortage in the country, the Met office has alerted all the authorities concerned to take measures for water storage accordingly.

The first spell of pre-monsoon rains lashed Islamabad and parts of upper Punjab including Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Lahore, Sargodha, Faisalabad divisions and various areas of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Kashmir during the Eidul Fitr holidays.



Meanwhile, people in Karachi also enjoyed a light drizzle accompanied by gusty winds.

The first spell of pre-monsoon rains started from June 15 and continued till the third day of Eid. Several parts of the country experienced strong dust storm ahead of showers. It helped bringing down temperatures across the country and brought respite from intense heat to some extent.

“Now the second spell of pre-monsoon showers is expected to hit the country from June 22 onwards,” said PMD spokesperson Khalid Malik while talking to The Express Tribune. The actual monsoon season will, however, start from June 30 onwards in the country, he added.



According to the outlook for summer monsoon shared by the Met office, the monsoon is expected to be more active during its first half than the second one. In northern Pakistan, rainfall is expected to remain “normal to slightly above normal of long term average” during the first half of the season, and below normal during the second.

In southern parts of the country on the other hand, rainfall is likely to remain “near normal of long term average” during first half of the season, and largely below normal during the second half.

The prevailing temperatures trend in Pakistan indicates high probability of few “extreme rainfall events” in Punjab, and “glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) events” in Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral areas during the monsoon season.