Pleasant change: Light showers bring respite from soaring heat

Pre-monsoon to begin after June 20, says met dept official

ISLAMABAD: Light and scattered rain coupled with gusty winds brought down the temperature in the twin cities on Wednesday.

After a week of sweltering heat with the mercury touching around 40-41 degrees Celsius, the scattered showers brought some relief for residents of Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) Director General, Dr Ghulam Rasul, while talking to The Express Tribune, however said the temperature in the twin cities would rise in the coming days.

He added that cities would receive light to moderate rain soon after the end of the presently emerging tropical cyclone in the Arabian Sea.

The official said the cyclone had influenced normal weather patterns across the country.

He further said pre-monsoon was expected to begin after June 20 and would continue till the first week of July.

The director general said the good news was that pre-monsoon and Ramzan were going to begin simultaneously.

Mainly very hot and dry weather was expected in most parts of the country during the next 24 hours.

Fire on the Margallas

A bush fire broke on the Maragalla Hills on Wednesday afternoon. The Capital Development Authority (CDA) Spokesperson Ramzan Sajid said the fire erupted in the area that falls under the jurisdiction of Hazara District of Khbyer-Pakhtunkhwa. He however, said some of the affected area near Monal came under their domain.

The fire was controlled within half an hour and no damage was reported.

The CDA spokesperson said such incidents were common during summers and the civic agency had already employed per-emptive measures.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 11^th, 2015.