February 23, 2008	Saturday	Safar 15, 1429

KARACHI, Feb 22: Having only recently weathered the passage of one of the coldest winters ever recorded in Karachi, citizens were subjected to another freak meteorological phenomenon on Friday as the entire region remained blanketed in a heavy layer of atmospheric dust that added a new patina to the city’s already high levels of atmospheric pollution.

Officials of the Pakistan Meteorological Department told Dawn that the extremely poor conditions of visibility experienced during the day were due to dust particles suspended in the air that blew over the city from the western side. Strong winds blowing towards the south-east had picked up sand particles from westerly desert regions in Balochistan, including Dalbandin and Naushki. On Friday, the dust-laden air blanketed nearly the entire coastal region of the country from Gwadar in Balochistan to Karachi in Sindh, as a result of which visibility was reduced to merely 500 metres.

While motorists struggled to drive whilst peering through the layers of dust on their vehicles’ windscreens, motorcyclists were further hampered by the suspended particles stinging their eyes. Although road traffic was inconvenienced in this way, when contacted by Dawn a Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) spokesperson said that aircraft operation at the Quaid-e-Azam International Airport remained normal throughout the day and no disturbances were experienced in the flight schedules. “Visibility remained at 500 metres and the CAA is sufficiently equipped to arrange for the arrival and departure of various domestic and international flights,” he commented.

The unusual phenomenon took the residents by surprise, particularly in view of the fact that spring in Karachi is characterised by blue skies and fresh winds. Fortunately, however, the dusty conditions experienced yesterday are not expected to last. The Meteorological Department has detected a low pressure zone developing towards the east, over the Rajasthan desert in India. It therefore expects that much of the dust-laden air that hovered over the city on Friday will be sucked eastwards, due to which considerably improved visibility conditions and a relatively clear day will be witnessed on Saturday (today).

The highest temperature recorded in the city on Friday was 31 degrees Celsius while the lowest was 18 degrees. The humidity levels remained quite constant at 19 per cent.