22 January 2004	Thursday	29 Ziqa'ad 1424

LAHORE, Jan 21: The country received its first widespread winter rain on Wednesday. Though light, it covered almost all the cities with a persistent spell and brightened prospects of good crops.

Road and rail traffic moved at a slow pace to avoid accidents. Air traffic schedule was disrupted at many places. According to the Met office, rain is likely to continue in many cities during the next 24 hours.

In Lahore, the rain was light and persistent. It intensified in the afternoon and was continuing till the night. By 5pm, the local Met office had recorded 6mm of rain at its Jail Road observatory and the airport.

The rain caused by the secondary of a westerly system developed over central Saudi Arabia two days ago was accompanied by snowfall on the hills in the NWFP and the Northern Areas, which improved the country's water storage capacity for the early summer.

The day's temperature dropped in many cities, bringing back the chill. In Lahore, the maximum temperature dropped from Tuesday's 20 degrees Celsius to 14 degrees Celsius. The minimum temperature was six degrees Celsius with 94 per cent humidity in the morning and 88 per cent in the evening.

Long and repeated power breakdowns affected work in offices and educational institutions and water supply. According to Chief Meteorologist Shaukat Ali Awan, almost the entire Balochistan, Sindh, the NWFP and Punjab received the rain, which was light and at some places moderate.

He said the winter rainy season lasted till March 31 and heavy rain with thunder was expected in February. He said Wednesday's snowfall would cater to the country's water needs in April to June.

The Met office reported that by 5pm, Peshawar had received 17mm of rain; Garhi Dupatta and Saidu Sharif, 16mm each; Malam Jabba, 15mm; Bahawalpur and Islamabad, 11mm each; Balakot and Bahawalnagar, 9mm each; Kakul and Dir, 8mm each; Kotli, Mandi Bahauddin, Jhelum and Sialkot, 6mm each; Sibbi and Kalam, 4mm each; Parachinar, 3mm; Multan and Sargodha, 2mm each; and Quetta and Dera Ismail Khan, 1mm each.