Brace for another storm next week: Met office

Occurrence of such extreme weather conditions is due to massive deforestation, urbanisation and pollution, says Khan


Sehrish Wasif April 28, 2015
Occurrence of such extreme weather conditions is due to massive deforestation, urbanisation and pollution, says Khan. PHOTO: AFP

ISLAMABAD:


The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has warned that unstable weather conditions could lead to another severe storm which is expected during the middle of this week and again during the first week of May.


In a press conference held here on Monday at PMD, Mohammad Aleem ul Hassan, deputy director forecasting, PMD said two more weather systems are expected to approach upper parts of the country over the next ten days.

Therefore scattered rain with dust-storm is expected in upper parts of K-P which include Peshawar, Malakand, Mardan and Hazara Divisions and in North Punjab which includes Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Sargodha division and Kashmir in the next 10 days, he said.

“Though it is impossible to predict a storm but considering the recent windstorm in Peshawar that has claimed over 40 lives the Met office is expecting another one in coming days,” he said.

He said for Peshawar rain and thunderstorms were predicted two days before the day it occurred by PMD. “There is no truth in this news that PMD did not issue any early warning to the K-P government for the windstorm so that precautionary measures could have been taken to save many precious lives,” said Hassan.

He said such types of extreme weather events rarely develop due to thermal contrast during March and April which is a transitional period when days are getting hot and nights are still cold.

“Such interaction of cold air coming from west and warm air from east or south results in windstorm,” he explained.

The opinion was echoed by Sher Ali Khan, spokesperson Aviation Division who speaking at an event said it was very unusual extreme weather event that rarely occurs in Pakistan. However in the past similar kinds of windstorms had occurred in March 2001 and March 2011, respectively

He said the occurrence of such extreme weather conditions is the result of massive deforestation, urbanisation and pollution.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 28th, 2015.

COMMENTS (1)

Layman | 8 years ago | Reply ET you guys are to much biased against PTI, you talk about freedom of speech but you don't publish comments who criticize you, your urdu channel started a full fledged propaganda campaign yesterday even a layman would have noticed how you guys were going over the board in criticizing PTI, why don't you talk about people who governed KPK for 67 years and could not do any thing related to disaster management and infrastructure of the province and city, is this how a free media works, don't expect people of Pakistan that naive, if media becomes blackmailer then there is nothing good you people are doing for country.
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