Karachi heatwave ends as Cyclone Vayu weakens

Sea breeze starts blowing again after four days

KARACHI: The recent spell of a heatwave, which had gripped Karachi for the past few days and was caused due to the development of Cyclone Vayu in the Arabian Sea, has ended.

Tropical Cyclone Vayu crossed the coastal areas of India after which it weakened into a depression. As a result, suspended winds from the sea have been restored after four days in Karachi, making the city breathe a sigh of relief.

With the restoration of southwestern winds on Tuesday, it is predicted that heat intensity will reduce further.

In view of these developments, temperature today, on Wednesday, is expected to drop and remain between 35 and 37 degrees Celsius.

However, showing slight improvement, weather in the city will still remain hot with raised humidity levels. Met Office has also forecast that weather will remain partly cloudy in the coming three days.

Over the past couple of days, southwestern winds from the sea had remained suspended, as a consequence of the formation of Vayu in the north of Arabian Sea.

In turn, Karachi experienced northwestern and northeastern winds from Balochistan, which kept the weather hot and dry. However, weather showed signs of improvement on Tuesday.

According to the Met Office, lowest temperature recorded in Karachi on Tuesday was 29.5 degrees Celsius while highest temperature recorded was 37.8 degrees Celsius.

The 73% humidity level in the air, in the morning, dropped to 62% in the evening and the speed of winds blowing from the sea was recorded at 28kph.

Karachi Chief Meteorologist Sardar Sarfaraz said that while Cyclone Vayu had caused rainfall in India, its impact was neutralised in Karachi and rural Sindh, adding that the weather would remain moderate in the coming few days.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 19^th, 2019.