LAHORE – The Lahorites got respite from the scorching heat as dust storm followed by rain made weather pleasant on Friday. Accumulated rainwater however paralysed routine life in some low-lying areas, mostly inhabited by the poor and lower middle classes. This also exposed the performance of the Wasa and the district administration’s tall claims about monsoon arrangements, as some newly-constructed roads too turned into ponds.
Water stagnation also caused traffic jams at the under construction portions of some major roads of the city. Despite all the odds, the heat-relieved citizens, especially the children, wasted no chance to enjoy the rain and refreshing weather. The citizens from all strata of the society rushed to the public parks and other recreational places. Many of them took to picnicking and enjoying mangoes; some others made a bee line for the restaurants to have spicy foods.
The city was overcast from the morning, bringing the temperature down to 28 degree Celsius as opposed to Thursday’s 44 degree Celsius. Metrological department here forecast a mix of cloudy and clear skies with thunderstorm and chances of 12mm-21mm rain in next 24 hours.
Strong monsoon currents have started to penetrate in upper parts of the country that may cause heavy falls and flash/urban flooding at isolated places of Lahore, Rawalpindi and Gujranwala divisions. The Met Office officials said that the fresh spell of rain will continue from Friday to Monday in most parts of the country.
According to the forecast, fairly widespread thunderstorm /rain with isolated heavy falls was expected over Lahore, Sahiwal, Gujranwala, Sargodha, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi divisions and Kashmir during next 24 hours. Scattered rain with isolated heavy falls was expected over Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit Baltistan, south Punjab and northeast Balochistan, it said.
“The wet spell is likely to continue. A seasonal low lies over northwest Balochistan while moist current from Arabian Sea is penetrating into Kashmir and upper Punjab up to 5,000 feet height. Thursday’s trough of westerly wave over northeast Afghanistan now lies over northern parts of Pakistan,” the Met Office forecast report said.
River Kabul at Nowshehra had a medium flood and river Indus at Kalabagh and Chashma was having low flood levels. The yesterday’s highest maximum temperature recorded in Dalbandin was 47C. The maximum temperatures of other cities during the last 24 hours were as: Lahore 38C, Islamabad 35, Quetta 39, Karachi 35, Peshawar 37.