RAWALPINDI: A heavy rain lashed the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad on Thursday evening.

The rain brought down the maximum temperatures from 25 to 20 degrees Celsius in Rawalpindi and from 24 to 19 degrees in Islamabad.

The Met Office recorded 16 millimetres of rain in Islamabad and 1mm in Rawalpindi.

An official of the Met Office said rain/thunderstorm with snowfall over the hills was expected at scattered places in Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, Malakand, Hazara divisions, Islamabad and

upper/central Punjab (Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Sargodha, Lahore, Faisalabad, Sahiwal and Bahawalpur divisions).

Snowfall is also expected in Murree, Galliyat, Neelum valley and Malakand division. The rain also brought smiles to the faces of farmers on the outskirts of the twin cities.

“These rains are beneficial for the wheat crop and would have positive effect on other crops in the entire region which is dependent on rain,” said Riaz Ahmed Raja, a farmer at Rawat, while talking to Dawn.