KARACHI: The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has predicted “widespread rain-thunderstorms with isolated heavy falls” in Karachi and other parts of Sindh from January 4 under a new weather system expected to enter the country through Balochistan by Monday.
On December 30, the authority said “heavy rains were not expected in Karachi” in the upcoming days, adding “light drizzle was expected in the city from January 5 to 6.”
However in its latest advisory issued today, the Met office said a strong westerly wave would enter North Balochistan from January 3, which would “gradually likely spread over the central and upper Sindh, and then almost whole of Pakistan.”
Under the influence of this weather system, the Met office said, widespread thunderstorms and isolated heavy rainfall are expected in Karachi, Hyderabad, Sanghar, Badin, Thatta, Mirpurkhas, Tando Allayar, Tando Muhammad Khan, Umerkot and Tharparkar.
Likewise, heavy falls are also likely to occur in districts of Dadu, Jamshoro, Shaheed Benazirabad, Jacobabad, Shikarpur, Sukkur, Larkana and Qambar Shahdadkot districts during the same period, it added.
The first spell of winter showers was seen in the last week of December. Heavy and light rains were recorded early in the morning in different areas of the city, including in Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Sharea Faisal, Malir, Model Colony, Kharadar, Garden and Qayyumabad.
The weather forecaster had stated that the highest rainfall (5mm) was recorded in Quaidabad, whereas 4mm was recorded at the airport and (3mm) in Gulistan-e-Jauhar. It had also said the city was going to be in the grips of a cold wave, which expected to last till January 5.
It had earlier said that most areas of the country would experience rain-spell and snowfall under the effect of a “strong westerly weather system”.
