14 May 2004	Friday	23 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1425

LAHORE, May 13: Thursday was the hottest day of the current summer in the city with the mercury touching 43.7 degrees Celsius. It was half a degree higher than Tuesday's 43.2 degrees Celsius.

The minimum temperature on Thursday was 25.7 degrees Celsius with 36 per cent humidity in the morning and 13 per cent in the evening. Streets wore a deserted look as the blazing sun forced people to stay indoors. Travelling by motorcycles, non-airconditioned cars and private transport was difficult because of the intense heat.

It was particularly hard to wait for green signals at the crossings where traffic police performed duty under their white umbrellas. People ran airconditioners and desert coolers but repeated power breakdowns brought them a great deal of inconvenience.

The Met office reported similar weather conditions almost all over the province and forecast further rise in the temperature in the next few days. Sargodha was the hottest place with a maximum temperature of 45.2 degrees C.

It was followed by Dera Ghazi Khan 45.2 degrees C, Faisalabad 44.2, Multan 44, Khanpur 43.7, Bahawalpur 43.5 and Jhelum 41.8 degrees C. The Met office said it would remain partly cloudy in Rawalpindi and Lahore divisions during the next 24 hours.