RAWALPINDI: Heavy rain accompanied by gusty winds lashed the twin cities on Sunday evening, bringing a pleasant change to the weather. More rains are expected on Monday evening as per the Met Office’s forecast.

It had also predicted that pre-monsoon rains were likely to start from June 16.

Gusty winds, whose speed was calculated at 60km per hour, blew away temporary shelters, kiosks and billboards along Islamabad Expressway, Peshawar Road and Old Airport Road.

Earlier, in the day, the temperature rose to 42°C, forcing people to remain indoors. However, in the evening, dark clouds appeared in the sky, followed by gusty winds and rain in the twin cities that brought the mercury down to 24°C.

“Rain has come as a blessing; we had been suffering from hot weather since last week,” said Nasir Hussain, who was visiting Saddar.

Mohammad Ahsan from Chaklala Scheme-III said power load-shedding had made the lives of people miserable and even alternatives sources like Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) had failed to deliver.

According to a Met Office spokesperson, a shallow westerly wave is present over western/upper parts of the country while moist currents from the Arabian Sea are penetrating the central and eastern parts of the region.

He said mainly very hot and dry weather was expected in most plain areas of the country while gusty/dust-raising winds will blow through the plain areas of Punjab and upper Sindh. Rain/thunderstorm has also been forecast in upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, Kashmir and its adjoining hilly areas in the afternoon/evening.

The spokesperson said dust/thunderstorm was expected in Rawalpindi and Islamabad on Monday evening, with chances of rain, adding that pre-monsoon rains were likely to begin from June 16.

According to the Met Office, 5mm rain was recorded in Shamsabad and 3mm in Chaklala, Rawalpindi. In Islamabad region, 5mm rain was recorded in Zero Point, 3mm in Bokra and 2mm in Golra.

The highest temperature recorded on Sunday was in Sibbi, Jhelum and D.I. Khan where the mercury soared to 46 degrees while Bhakkar, Attock and Gujrat experienced the heat at 45°C.

Published in Dawn, June 13th, 2022