KARACHI, July 25: Humidity remained high at 82 per cent as the city received a light rain on Friday.

The Met office told Dawn on Friday that while the observatory at the Masroor base had received less than one millimetre rain, the observatories at the Faisal base had received 2 millimetres of rain, Pakistan Quarters 0.7 millimetres, Baldia 1.3 millimetres, and Airport 3 millimetres.

It said that the maximum and minimum temperatures had been 31 degrees Centigrade and 26.5 degrees Centigrade, respectively.

The chief meteorologist at the Pakistan Meteorological Department, Arif Mehmood, told Dawn that the Met Office observatory at the Airport had recorded a rainfall of more than 100 millimetres since July 1. He added that the observatory at the PAF Masroor Base in Mauripur recorded a rainfall of 123 millimetres in July.

Giving a breakdown of rainfall recorded at the Airport observatory during the past seven years, Mr Mehmood said that in July 1996 the observatory had received 12.8 millimetres of rain; in July 1997, 18.6 millimetres; in July 1998, 10 millimetres; in July 1999, 0.2 millimetres; in July 2000, nil; in July 2001, 73.6 millimetres; and in July 2002, 0.3 millimetres.

He added that for the past 30 years the Airport observatory and the Mauripur observatory had received an average rainfall of 85.5 millimetres and 92 millimetres, respectively, in the month of July.

He said Karachi’s record of rains showed that the city received maximum amount of rain in July 1967, which had totalled 429.3 millimetres.

EDHI WARNING: A press release issued by the Edhi Foundation on Friday says that since the Met Office has forecast a thunderstorm, picnickers visiting the beach in the city should refrain from bathing in the sea on July 26 and July 27.