10 February 2005	Thursday	30 Zilhaj 1425

LAHORE, Feb 9: Lahore and several other cities in the Punjab received widespread rain on Wednesday. The rain dropped temperature and it was considered good for crops.

According to Chief Meteorologist Shaukat Ali Awan, the wet spell was being caused by a a westerly wave and it might continue in the Punjab till Feb 11 and in the Northern Areas till Feb 12.

"The system consists of a series of low pressures over Balochistan and west of it in Southern Iran. It is covering a larger area and that is why cloud coverage in Pakistan is wide. There has also been light and intermittent rain or snowfall for the same reason," he said.

The country had such a prolonged rainy spell in winter in 1964. And the present system is keeping day's maximum temperature at least 10 degrees C below the average normal value of many cities in the country.

According to Mr Awan, since the onset of the spell on Feb 5, Murree has received over 12ft of snowfall, the Northern Areas over 3ft and some places in Azad Kashmir nearly 150mm of rain.

"This is a record in five years and the rain or snowfall over the hills would revive many dead springs there. The inflow in Mangla Dam has increased from 9,000 cusecs to 20,000 cusecs and the levels of Simli and Rawal dams have improved," he said.

The concentration of rain in the Punjab was over its southern region, mainly Bahawalnagar division, which received double than its normal rain for the month of February.

Weather experts said that the rain there and in the adjoining Balochistan would prove beneficial not only for people but also for the flora and fauna.

In Lahore, rain started on Tuesday night and it continued intermittently till 4pm on Wednesday, creating problems for the people who found it hard to reach their workplaces in the morning.

Schoolchildren too suffered a lot as it proved hard for them to reach their institutions in the morning and back home in the afternoon. Those who travelled on motorcycles of their elders suffered the most. Many streets and roads remained inundated and driving was risky because of the slippery conditions.

Repeated power breakdowns in many localities caused a great deal of inconvenience and clear weather in the late afternoon was taken as a respite.Though the sunshine afterwards was brief and inadequate to warm up Lahorites, kite buffs enjoyed it the most.

The Met office had by 5pm recorded 17mm rain at its Jail Road Observatory and 15mm at the airport. It has forecast more thunderstorm and rain in Lahore during the next 24 hours.

The maximum temperature was 15.4 degrees C and the minimum 12.5 degrees C with 89 per cent humidity in the morning and 78 per cent in the evening.

The Met office reported that Jhelum received 14mm of rain, Mandi Bahauddin 6mm, Sialkot 21mm, Faisalabad 46mm, Dera Ghazi Khan 9mm, Bahawalnagar 8mm, Khanpur 1mm, Rahim Yar Khan 16mm, Bahawalpur 9mm, Sargodha 4mm, and Jhang 6mm.

It expected scattered thunderstorm and rain in many cities in the Punjab during the next 24 hours.