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KARACHI: Warm desert winds and intense heat caused a spike in city’s temperature, which soared from 37.2°C the previous day to 41°C on Friday.
The Met department stated in its forecast that similar weather conditions were likely to prevail on Saturday when the maximum temperature was expected to reach 40°C or above.
“Today, warm winds from Balochistan’s desert regions have managed to block the sea breeze that had been protecting Karachi and some other parts of the coastal belt from the wrath of the high pressure system for the past few days,” explained chief meteorologist Dr Sardar Sarfaraz.
The system, he pointed out, had induced hot to very hot weather conditions across the country including Sindh. “These areas will get some respite next week while coastal areas including Karachi will get relief sooner as the sea breeze is likely to resume on Sunday,” he said.
The months of May and June are the hottest period of the year in Pakistan. But, this year’s summer has an early start and there are extended warm periods.
According to the Met department’s advisory, severe heatwave conditions will persist over most parts of Sindh for the next two days and are likely to ease down slightly with a drop of two-to-three degrees Celsius from May 15-16.
The heatwave, the advisory says, is likely to get intense again from May 17 onward over central and upper Sindh with the maximum temperature ranging between 46°C and 48°C in Dadu, Nawabshah, Jacobabad, Larkana, Jacobabad, Shikarpur, Qambar-Shahdadkot, Khairpur and Sukkur districts.
HYDERABAD: Jacobabad recorded the highest temperature (50°C) on Friday followed by Larkana and Dadu as the second highest and Benazirabad, Naushahro Feroze and Rohri as the third highest.
Roads wore deserted look in Hyderabad where ratio of humidity remained 88pc at the highest and 16pc at the minimum. A wind velocity of four to ten nautical miles was recorded south-west ward in the day. Motorcyclists were seen covering their heads and faces to skip the heat-wave.
Published in Dawn, May 14th, 2022
