ISLAMABAD: While scorching weather continues in parts of the country’s south this May, northern Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are facing mild weather conditions, with regular rainfall and cool winds.

Another light spell of rain is expected today (Sunday), accompanied by winds from the west and northwest. The Met Office has said that a westerly wave is affecting upper parts of the country, but most of the country is expected to face hot and dry weather.

Due to the incoming pattern, rain accompanied with thundershowers and gusty wind is expected in isolated places in the Malahkand, Hazara, Peshawar, Kohat, Rawalpindi and Gujranwala divisions, upper parts of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Islamabad, Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.

The westerly wave, bringing cool winds and clouds, has influenced the local mercury level and the minimum temperature in Islamabad on the night between Friday and Saturday was 22°C at Zero Point and around 20°C on the outskirts of the capital, with the feels-like condition at 19°C.

In Murree, the maximum temperature was 21°C, with temperatures falling to below 10°C at night.

A Met Office official said high heat over the plains of Punjab, Sindh and northern India was inviting cool winds from Europe, Central Asia and southern Siberia.

The temperature in Islamabad touched 34°C at noon on Saturday and began falling as sunset approached.

Published in Dawn, May 20th, 2018