KARACHI/ISLAMABAD: As the wind direction changed and the sea breeze replaced the dry continental winds from the northwest, the temperature in the metropolis came down to 37.3 degrees Celsius on Thursday as against Wednesday’s 43.2°C.

Responding to Dawn’s queries, a Meteorological department official said the current relatively pleasant weather was going to stay only for a few days.

“From Monday, the mercury will again start rising and cross the 40°C mark,” he added.

The official said the minimum temperature recorded on Thursday was 26.5°C. He further said the relatively cooler sea breeze also increased the humidity, which was 66 per cent in the morning and 55pc in the evening.

“On Friday, the maximum temperature will be around 37°C to 39°C,” he added.

The weatherman explained that the dry continental winds from the northwest (Balochistan), however, kept the temperatures of other cities of Sindh hot.

He said the hottest place in the province on Thursday was Nawabshah where 46.5°C temperature was recorded.

Some of the other towns where 40-plus temperatures were recorded were: Dadu (45.8°C); Chhor, Jacobabad, Moenjodaro, Padidan, Sukkur (45.5°C); Mithi, Rohri (45°C); Hyderabad (43.5°C) and Badin (43°C).

The Met official said these cities will experience similar weather on Friday.

Cyclone Mekunu

The cyclone which started developing in the Arabian Sea a few days ago pounded the Yemeni island of Socotra on Thursday.

It is now about 1,700 kilometres southwest of Karachi and heading towards Oman’s southern coast near Salalah which it expects to hit Friday evening at a wind speed of 150-160 kilometres per hour.

“Mekunu is likely to intensify during the next 24 hours but none of the areas of Pakistani coast are under threat,” a Met department official said.

Talking to Dawn, Director General Dr Ghulam Rasool said though Karachi was unlikely to be hit by Mekunu, the most serious issue of the metropolis was localised heat generation.

“If you look at the thermal image of Karachi, you will notice it is in red colour,” he maintained.

“There is an urgent need to reduce heat generation and give the city a greener look,” he said.

He suggested that if there was limited space to grow trees in Karachi, plantations should be made in pots on rooftops and in balconies of flats to improve the situation.

Published in Dawn, May 25th, 2018