ISLAMABAD, Nov 12: The first winter rain that lashed many parts of the country on Sunday dropped the mercury by four to five degrees Celsius and turned the weather cold in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), this was the first winter rain recorded in many parts of the Punjab, NWFP and some parts of Balochistan.

A total of 6mm rain has been recorded in Islamabad and Rawalpindi each, and more rain is expected during the next 24 hours. As a result of cold weather, people of the two cities have started wearing woollies and jackets. The minimum temperature recorded in Islamabad and Rawalpindi was 14c.

The PMD has forecast that this year the weather would be harsher as compared to last year’s, because of the early winter rains. The minimum temperature recorded in the twin cities last year was -1.3 Celsius, while the average rain in November was 7.8mm.