KARACHI: Scattered drizzle and light showers in parts of the city on Monday afternoon cooled down the hot and humid weather in the metropolis to some extent, but Met office called it a “temporary phenomena” with no chance of the trend to continue at least for a few more days.

However, the officials said that night rain with thunderstorm and strong winds could revisit Karachi at night between Monday and Tuesday.

The Met office recorded cloudy weather in the city since morning with maximum temperature touching the range between 34 and 36 degrees Celsius, but around 70 per cent humidity — the amount of moisture in the atmosphere — and suspension of sea breeze increased the heat index making the temperature ‘feel like’ 42 degree Celsius in the afternoon.

The drizzle started in parts of the city some time before sunset, which proved short-lived. An official at the Met office said that the fresh rain came after the clouds in southeast Sindh impacted the city, as there had been heavy rains in Mithi and Tharparkar recently.

The areas which received light rains and drizzle included Gulistan-i-Jauhar, Gulshan-i-Hadeed, Gulshan-i-Maymar, Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Nazimabad, Sohrab Goth and other pockets of the city. Though the Met office did not see the trend continuing, it said the brief spell of light rain had turned on the sea breeze bringing down the temperature and humidity.

“There is rain expected in the city, but a few spells of drizzle and showers,” said an official at the Met office. “But the good thing is that the sea breeze, which was suspended, has resumed and higher count of humidity, which had been causing severe heat in the city, has come down turning the weather pleasant and comparatively cooler than in the past one week.”

Heatwave

Pakistan Red Crescent (PRC)-Sind chairperson Shahnaz Hamid has emphasised need for collective efforts to ensure better response to the forthcoming heatwaves, APP reported.

Addressing a total of 60 participants of the heatwave management training organised jointly by the PRC-Sindh and World Food Programme to train the trainers, she said that all the stakeholders were being engaged to build local capacity for better heatwave management.

Published in Dawn, July 23rd, 2019