KARACHI: Tuesday’s late-night rain spell across the city brought the wave of cold weather to Karachi heralding the beginning of the year’s winter season on Wednesday when the temperature dropped to as low as 14 degrees Celsius with chilly winds blowing at the speed of 18km to 21km per hour, Meteorological officials said.

They added that the city received its first winter showers late on Tuesday night which immediately pushed down the mercury to as low as 16 degrees Celsius and by the morning it further declined to 14 degrees Celsius.

“The light to moderate showers were reported from all over the city, including Gulzar-i-Hijri, Gulistan-i-Jauhar, Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Rashid Minhas Road, Gulshan-i-Jamal, Sharea Faisal, Shah Faisal Colony, Malir and Quaidabad,” said an official.

“Major rainfall was witnessed in Surjani Town, Orangi Town, Baldia, New Karachi, and M.A. Jinnah Road. The PAF Masroor Base recorded the highest rainfall at 4 millimetres.”

The weatherman warned that the city could witness more rains and much colder than usual winter in December when two to three “good spells of rain” could hit the city.

The last month of the year, he predicted, would be much colder than past years where the temperature could drop further compared to past trends.

“This year temperatures will be lower than usual in December,” he added. “It would be a little early to predict about January but current model and trend suggest that January’s temperatures may remain as per past years. For now, the cold and strong winds are likely to stay in Karachi for the next two to three days,” he said.

Published in Dawn, November 26th, 2020