Spellbinding weather: Rain, hailstorm descend on twin cities

Met dept says temperature to start rising from March.

RAWALPINDI/ ISLAMABAD: The weather in the capital and Rawalpindi changed pleasantly as the cities were hit by what might be this winter season’s last spell of rains.

Heavy rain, hailstorm and gusty winds that lashed through the twin cities brought the mercury level down from 17 degrees Celsius to 11 degrees.

Heavy rains started from Tuesday and continued till Wednesday afternoon with hailstorms recorded at few places.

According to the meteorological department, 17mm of rain was recorded at Zero Point, 17mm at Saidpur and 13mm at Golra, while 15mm was recorded in Chaklala, 14mm in Shamsabad and 9mm in the Bokra area of Rawalpindi.

Several localities in Rawalpindi were flooded while a construction ditch at the metro bus site was inundated in Islamabad. PHOTOS: ONLINE, INP, WASEEM NAZIR/EXPRESS

Talking to The Express Tribune, Ghulam Rasul, chief meteorologist at the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), said it was the season’s last spell of rain and the onset of spring. He added that the weather is expected to remain partly cloudy till the end of February and temperature is likely to start rising from the first week of March.

A blessing for farmers

Disappointed by the prolonged drought this winter season, farmers have now heaved a sigh of relief with the current spell of rain.

Most farmers said they had lost hope of a high- yield due to the low rain this season.

The hailstorm however, proved to be a cause of concern for farmers. “We received enough rain but the hailstorm damaged the crops,” said Israr Satti, a farmer from Rawat.

Farmers along with agricultural scientists are optimistic that if rains continue at regular intervals, water needs of crops would be fulfilled resulting in better production.

“Wheat has been sown on around 320,000 acres of land, most of which depends on rainwater,” said District Officer Agriculture Dr Arif Khan while talking to The Express Tribune.

He added that there has been no rain since the past two months because of which no fertilisers and pesticides could be added to the soil which in turn left crops vulnerable to diseases and pests.

“The crop was in desperate need of water which has been fulfilled by this spell,” Khan said. However, he added that the hailstorm could adversely affect crops.

Several localities in Rawalpindi were flooded while a construction ditch at the metro bus site was inundated in Islamabad. PHOTOS: ONLINE, INP, WASEEM NAZIR/EXPRESS

While the rain turned out to be pleasant for some, the showers in Rawalpindi left houses in the low lying areas flooded.

Rainwater entered houses in various localities including Dokh Nawaz, Ali Town, Dhoke Lal Shah, Dhoke Juma, Fauji Colony, Dhamyal, Hayal, Dhoke Sayedan, Shakriyal, Kurri Road and Dhoke Kala Khan.

Massive traffic jams

The heavy rain led to overflowing sewerage lines forcing pedestrians and motorists to wade through flooded streets. Massive traffic jams were reported on link roads of the twin cities including Murree Road, Sixth Road, Pindora, Faizabad, Margalla Road, Garden Chowk and roads leading to areas where the metro-bus project is currently under way.

Islamabad Traffic Police DSP Ilyas Hashmi informed that three accidents were reported since the rain started. One of them was reported near Jinnah Super, one on Rawal Road and another on the expressway.

He assured that efforts were being made to control the traffic flow during the rain, however, a major traffic jam was reported at Shakarparian Chowk.

Rawal Dam sub-divisional officer Bilal Rana said the level of dam water rose from 1,747 feet to 1,749 feet.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 26^th, 2015.