21 January 2004	Wednesday	28 Ziqa'ad 1424

KARACHI, Jan 20: The city received its first winter showers on Tuesday, with temperature falling to 15.5 degrees centigrade. The chief meteorologist of the Pakistan Meteorological Department, Arif Mehmood, told Dawn that a low pressure system from Iran was responsible for rains in Karachi and other areas of the country.

"Gwadar received 22 millimetres of rain on Tuesday. However, the low pressure system has weakened considerably and there are slight chances of light rain on Wednesday," he explained.

PMD officials said the minimum and maximum temperatures on Tuesday had been 15.5 and 20 degrees centigrade respectively. They added that humidity had risen from Monday's 29 per cent to 79 per cent on Tuesday.

The PMD observatory at the PAF Masroor Base recorded 2mm of rain, Sharea Faisal 2mm, Pakistan Quarters 3.4mm, North Karachi 2.4mm and Baldia 2mm. Though the drizzle stopped in the evening, the weather remained cold at night. According to a met office forecast, the minimum temperature on Wednesday will range between 11 and 13 degrees centigrade.