KARACHI, Sept 12: A punishing heat wave with dry conditions caused the mercury to rise to 42.1 degrees centigrade on Friday, Met officials said.

They said that the temperature on Friday fell just a few notches short of the record of the highest temperature in September.

On Sept 30, 1951, the mercury shot to 43 degrees centigrade.

An official of the Pakistan Meteorological Department blamed the current heat wave on hot winds blowing in from the desert areas of Rajasthan in India.

He added that the weather would remain this way for at least 24 hours.

“The highest temperature on Saturday is expected to remain between 41 and 43 degrees Celsius,” he said.

The official said that the minimum temperature recorded on Friday was 29 degrees centigrade, adding that humidity – or the amount of moisture in the air – dropped to around 20 per cent.