KARACHI: Karachi yesterday [June 5] was under a cloak of dust raised by high winds. There were clouds, too, and weather experts said that the stage was being set for the monsoons, expected in July. For today, they have again forecast a windy day with clouds and chances of drizzle early in the morning and later in the night. Yesterday also, it drizzled briefly here and there but nowhere did it come close to becoming rain.

The winds — and the clouds — have been cau­s­ed by the steep pressure gradient along the coast, which is the result of the seasonal low pressure on Quetta and the adjoining areas. Like yesterday, it was also windy on Thursday and winds, raising dust, had sharply reduced visibility. Yesterday, the winds blew up to about 20 miles an hour and the visibility was reduced to two miles.

[Meanwhile, as reported by an agency in Hyde­r­abad,] About 30 feet breach which occurred in Jamroa Canal in Tharparkar district on Tuesday has been closed last night. According to the rep­orts received here today [June 5] the breach has submerged an area of about 25 square miles in wat­er and rendered about 25,000 people shelterless.

Published in Dawn, June 6th, 2020