Weather change: Lower Sindh gets respite from heat wave

KARACHI:

The heat wave that had hit parts of Sindh for the past few days ended with a dust storm on Wednesday evening. Several flights were diverted and numerous feeders of the electricity utility tripped as a result.

Due to the wind storm, at least 55 feeders of K-Electric tripped, the power utility’s spokesperson Usama Qureshi told The Express Tribune. The spokesperson explained that the strong winds caused trees and billboards to smash against the low transmission lines. “There are 1,450 electric feeders installed across the city,” he added.

A Civil Aviation Authority confirmed that only two flights were diverted from Karachi airport due to zero visibility. “A domestic flight coming from Dera Ghazi Khan was diverted to Sukkur, while the Gulf Air plane coming from Bahrain was diverted to Muscat.”

The wind cycle blowing into the country from its Western region has started changing weather of the low-lying area of the province from hot and sunny to partly cloudy. There are chances of isolated heavy rainfall in some parts today.

According to the meteorological department, the sudden and surprising change in the weather that started Wednesday evening is likely to continue for a few days as a thick wind cycle is erupting in the upper region of the country. Weather in Karachi will remain partly cloudy and there were chances of rainfall, said a met official, adding that Hyderabad, Sukkur, Mirpurkhas, Larkana and other adjoining areas were likely to receive heavy rainfall and thunderstorms.

Meanwhile, the clouds burst open in Hyderabad, Thatta, Tando Muhammad Khan, Badin and parts of other districts on Wednesday evening, while the wind knocked down trees and signboards in several areas of Hyderabad.

The power supply was suspended from at least 80 feeders out of 412 in the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company's jurisdiction, which covers all 13 districts in Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas divisions as well as Nawabshah and Sanghar districts.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 4^th, 2015.