LAHORE, June 27: Many cities in the NWFP, the Northern Areas and the rice-growing zone in Punjab on Tuesday received first monsoon rainfall which was heavy at some places, increasing the river flow and proving beneficial for the crop being sown at present.

Lahore too received rainfall, which inundated many streets in just two hours, making travel difficult in city’s congested parts. But, the unpleasant aspects of the early morning shower were happily ignored by a majority of Lahorites as it rid them of about week-long spell of oppressive and humid weather.

“The first heavy monsoon rain in Punjab’s rice-growing zone is a blessing, and it will prove beneficial for the country’s economy,” chief meteorologist and head of the Flood Forecasting Division in Lahore Shaukat Awan said.

He said the rain increased the river Chenab level by 8,000 cusecs, Jhelum by around 4,000 cusecs and Indus at Tarbela by nearly 50,000 cusecs. It gave water to the rain-fed rice zone, besides providing the much-needed moisture there, he added.

The rain, that was coupled with strong winds, started in Lahore at around 9am after sky became heavily overcast. It turned weather pleasant but made it hard for people to reach their workplaces.

Many streets which were submerged by rainwater could not be cleared till the evening.

By 5pm, the local Met office had recorded 41mm of rain at its Jail Road office and 28mm at the airport. The city’s maximum temperature was 30.2 degrees C, and the minimum 28 degrees C with 71 per cent humidity in the morning and 73 per cent in the evening.

According to Mr Awan, the rain was generated by an upper air trough of a westerly wave and moisture from the Arabian Sea that converged over the rice-growing zone. There might be more intermittent rains in the zone during the next 24 to 48 hours, he said.

The Met office said from 8am to 5pm Islamabad airport received 51mm of rain, Sialkot 38mm, Jhelum 27mm, Islamabad (Zero Point) 23mm, Mandi Bahauddin 21mm, Sargodha and Kakul 16mm, while Sahiwal 2mm and Faisalabad 1mm rain.

Meanwhile, the Flood Forecasting Division said the rivers Jhelum and Chenab would be in low flood at Mangla and Marala during the next 24 hours. All the other rivers were flowing normally.

The division forecast scattered moderate rain over the upper catchments of the rivers Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej along with northern and north-eastern Punjab during the next 24 hours. Isolated rain might also occur over the upper catchments of river Indus along with the NWFP and north-eastern Balochistan.

It will remain partly cloudy with chances of thunderstorm and rain in Lahore.

Mr Awan said, at present, there was no low pressure or depression over the Bay of Bengal, but if either of the two develops and reaches Pakistan it would generate rain and cause mud or land sliding and flash flooding in the earthquake hit areas in Azad Kashmir, the NWFP or the Northern Areas.

“This is a regular feature of monsoon activity in these areas, but authorities must prepare a plan to protect people, a majority of whom have been rendered shelterless by the earthquake,” he said.