March 15, 2006	Wednesday	Safar 14, 1427

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LAHORE, March 14: Widespread rain in across Punjab, the NWFP and Northern Areas on Tuesday broke what meteorologists feared was a spell of drought. Rain also saw a drop in the maximum temperatures in many cities, returning a chill in the air.

The Met office in Lahore recorded 42mm of rain at the airport and 15mm at its Jail Road observatory in the city. It continued to rain in the metropolis with varied intensity throughout the day; it was still drizzling at the time of filing this report in the evening.

Agriculturists and meteorologists described the rain as a good omen for the wheat crop. They said the widespread but low or moderate rain provided the much-needed last watering to the standing crop which seemed difficult in view of the depletion of water reservoirs.

“It is a big compensation from nature as we had a below average rainfall in February and our reservoirs are touching the dead level,” said chief meteorologist Shaukat Ali Awan.

The Met Office has reported rain from Dir, the Swat valley and Malam Jabba in the NWFP and from Northern Areas to all the way south in Multan, Bahawalpur and Bahawalnagar districts. It rained in Hyderabad and cities in southern Sindh as well, and in some parts of Balochistan on Monday, providing the much-needed relief there.

Mr Awan said so far rainfall in the current month was much below the normal readings. But the current spell was enough to compensate for the shortfall.

He said rain was generated by a westerly system and it would continue to affect the country for another 24 hours.

The Met Office said, Jhelum received 3mm of rain, Mandi Bahauddin 4mm, Bahawalnagar 7mm, Murree 7mm, Bahawalpur 2mm, Sialkot 13mm, Shorkot 2mm, Sahiwal 7mm and Sargodha 1mm.

Meanwhile, the maximum temperature in Lahore was 19 degrees with 84 per cent humidity in the morning and 99 per cent in the evening on Tuesday.

Continuous rain and a drop in the temperature made people wear woollen clothes again. Attendance in offices was thin and driving difficult because of slippery roads.

There were frequent power breakdowns almost everywhere in the city which created a great deal of inconvenience for the people.

Many roads around the airport were inundated because of the heavy rain.