Karachi gets relief from rain

The provincial capital, which had been lashed by heavy downpours since Thursday, received some respite on Sunday as the weather system causing rainfall moved towards Balochistan, ruling out any possibilities of heavy rain and thunderstorms in the next few days, according to a Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) forecast.

However, the weather today (Monday) will remain mostly cloudy and some areas in the metropolis may even witness light rain, with the weather turning pleasant in the wake of restored southwestern winds, said PMD director Abdul Qayyum Bhutto. Meanwhile, the maximum temperature in the city was likely to be recorded at 34 degrees Celsius, he added.

According to Bhutto, the system moving out of Sindh is expected to cause rainfall in Balochistan.

Heavy showers had been battering Karachi under the impact of a monsoon rain system from Thursday. During the four-day rain spell - the fourth the city has witnessed this monsoon season - the highest rainfall at 208 millimetres (mm) was recorded at PAF Faisal Base. Besides, 201.5 mm of rain was recorded in Surjani Town, 184.5mm in Gulshan-e-Hadeed, 174mm at PAF Masroor Base, 166mm in Saddar, 155.7mm at the old airport, 131.4mm in Landhi, 124.9mm on University Road, 117.9mm in North Karachi, 110.1mm in Nazimabad, 105mm in Saadi Town and 103.9mm in Keamari.

As the rain abated on Sunday, 3mm of rain was recorded at PAF Faisal Base, 1.2mm at the old airport, 0.4mm at Jinnah International Airport and 0.2mm on University Road.

The maximum temperature on the day was recorded at 32.8 degrees Celsius and minimum at 26.4 degrees Celsius. Meanwhile, humidity levels dropped from 96 per cent in the day to 73 per cent in the evening, with southwestern winds blowing at 30 kilometres per hour.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 10^th, 2020.