Sindh

Hailstones fall in city suburbs after years

Light to moderate showers experienced in various places

Aftab Khan March 18, 2023

A man ducks as he crosses a road in Model Colony, Malir during a rare hailstone shower in the city on Friday. Photo: NNI

KARACHI:

In a rare incident, the suburbs of the port city on Friday morning received hail, while scattered light to moderate rain was experienced in some areas.

The city’s weather turned pleasant after sporadic light to moderate showers in various places, including Malir and Model Colony, with some areas also reporting a very brief spell of hail after several years.

Most of the city’s weather was clear on Friday morning, but some areas were overcast in the afternoon. Light to moderate showers started in the suburbs of the city, including New Nazimabad, Surjani Town and Orangi Town. Subsequently, the precipitation system spread to other parts of the city, during which light to moderate rainfall occurred in Port Qasim, North Karachi, Gulshan-e-Maymar, Gulistan-e-Jauhar Block 9, Gulshan-e-Hadeed, Malir Khokhra Par, Nagan Chowrangi, Airport, Scheme 33, and other areas.

The highest rainfall, 21 millimeters, was recorded in Gulshan-e-Hadeed, while 9.2mm rainfall was recorded in Surjani Town, 5.8mm at Jinnah Terminal and 2.1mm in Saadi Town. The lowest rainfall, 1.4mmwas recorded on University Road.

The situation in Central and South districts was entirely different, where the weather remained hot and humid with intense sunshine.

According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department, the precipitation system is being brought by western winds, due to which the city may have light rainfall with thunderstorms for the next two to three days.

The new precipitation system is also likely to cover rural districts of Sindh, including Qamber Shahdadkot, Larkana, Khairpur, Sukkur, Ghotki, Kashmore, Jacobabad, Naushero Feroze, Shaheed Benazirabad, Dadu, Jamshoro, Sanghar, Hyderabad, Matiari, Tando Allahyar, Tando Muhammad Khan, Mirpurkhas and Umarkot till March 20.

Moderate to heavy rain with intermittent dust and thundershowers may also take place in Tharparkar, Badin, Thatth, Sujawal and Karachi divisions in the next few days.

In Karachi, the maximum temperature on Friday was 33 degrees Celsius while the humidity in the air was 53 per cent.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 18^th, 2023.