January 11, 2006	Wednesday	Zilhaj 10, 1426

KARACHI, Jan 10: The week-long spell of cold weather came to an end on Tuesday as the maximum temperature rose to 26.4 degree Celsius. According to the Met Office, the minimum temperature on Wednesday will range between nine and 11 degrees centigrade and the weather would remain fair or partly cloudy with hazy morning.

The city experienced a record spell of chilly weather for a week with six to nine degree centigrade when the cold winds from Balochistan hit the city.

According to Met Office, temperature dropped to eight or nine degrees centigrade every winter in Karachi, but the current temperatures were the lowest recorded in nine years. “In 1996, the mercury had fallen to 5.7 degree centigrade”.

The Met office said Karachi normally receives winds from south-westerly and westerly direction. “But because of the change in weather, the city received gusty winds from northerly and north-westerly direction which dropped the temperature, they added.

They said the temperature rose as the now the city had again started receiving winds from south-west.

Recalling that on Feb 11, 1950, the minimum temperature was three degrees centigrade, the Met office said that the average minimum temperature of the past 30 years in February was 7.7 degrees centigrade.

The Met Office recalled that Jan 21, 1934 was the coldest day in Karachi when the mercury dropped to zero. “The current cold weather spell is now over for the time being, but the temperature is expected to fall if the city again starts receiving chilly winds from the north in a couple of days”, they added.

Meanwhile, a press release of the Met office said that on the basis of available global data, there are 80 per cent chances that winter rainfall from January to March 2004, on all Pakistan basis will be close to normal.