KARACHI, June 21: The recent spell of hot weather was broken on Thursday as Karachi experienced the first rainfall of the season at around 8pm. Further scattered showers and cloudy weather are expected in Hyderabad, Mithi and other parts of the province.

Dr Qamaruzzam Chaudhry, director-general of the Pakistan Meteorological Department, termed it a pre-monsoon shower of low intensity, and unlikely to last long. However, he said that the department was expecting a “good monsoon” this year, with rains due to start on June 25. Most of the country can expect the normal monsoon rains, he said, but eastern parts of Punjab and Sindh would receive above-average rainfall. Therefore, he warned, the possibility of flash floods and urban flooding could not be ruled out.

In Karachi, traffic congestion was witnessed around the Metropole Hotel and Sharea Faisal as citizens hastened to reach home, memories of last year’s flooding being fresh in their minds.

Some areas of the Defence Housing Authority and the Cantonment Board experienced drainage problems, including roads between Zamzama and Khayaban-i-Shamsheer, and Khayaban-i-Shujaat which was reportedly under six inches of water. Water also collected at Clifton’s Do Talwar crossing. The KPT Underpass, however, remained unaffected till the filing of this report.

The rainfall affected KESC’s already over-burdened network and minor trippings on extra-high tension wires were reported but quickly repaired. According to a spokesman for the KESC, Karachi experienced a shortage of 100MW during the daytime, which led to load-shedding lasting from an hour to an hour and a half in parts of the city. He said the KESC expected feeder trippings during the coming rains, since not all feeders had been fully rehabilitated.

Thursday’s brief spell of rain has been welcomed by farmers since it has benefited the standing cotton crop, which is due to be harvested in the second week of August. As a result of the showers, irrigation water can be diverted towards the rice fields.

However, there is great danger of the crops being damaged if the rains continue indefinitely. Last year about 80 per cent of the cotton crop around Sanghar was damaged by a 36-hour spell of rain.