Second phase of monsoon from July 20

Weatherman says Punjab only province to have received heavy rainfall

ISLAMABAD: Overall from July 1 to 9, Pakistan has received 15 per cent above normal rainfall whereas among all other provinces Punjab is the only province which has received good amount of rain, says Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) spokesman Khalid Mehmood Malik.

The PMD spokesman told The Express Tribune that on an average Pakistan receives 13.1 millimetres of rain during first nine days of July, but this year it received 15.1 mm.

Currently, Punjab is the only province that has received over 90 per cent, which is above normal rainfall. However, the rest of the provinces have received below normal rain till date, he said while sharing provincial data.

Malik revealed that “Second phase of monsoon showers has already begun in the country and is expected to continue till July 19-20.”

“This time this spell will be a bit longer than the previous one but there might be a gap of one or two days. However, parts of the country are expected to receive isolated showers of moderate intensity during this period,” he said.

Monsoon currents from the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal have already started to enter north-eastern parts of the country. These currents are likely to intensify and “according to the data it has started from Thursday”. A westerly wave is also expected from Wednesday over upper parts of the country.

“It is expected that the rain intensity during this phase would remain moderate, however, it is also expected that it would get a bit intense on July 17,” he added.

Malik further said that the monsoon currents have entered in Pakistan through its routine course.

The monsoon may not trigger riverine flooding but urban flooding could be possible mainly due to out of order sewerage system, the PMD official warned.

Moreover, under these meteorological conditions, the monsoon rains are likely to commence over Kashmir, upper Punjab and lower Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), he explained.

More rain-thundershowers accompanied with gusty winds are also expected in Islamabad, upper Punjab which includes Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Lahore, Sargodha, and Faisalabad divisions. In addition, different parts of K-P including Malakand, Hazara, Peshawar, Mardan, Kohat divisions, tribal areas are also likely to receive heavy winds. In Bannu, DI Khan, Sahiwal, and Multan divisions the winds would begin from Thursday to Sunday.

It is predicted that rains in Sindh will be limited to Sukkur adding that parts of northern Balochistan will also receive the showers.