RAWALPINDI: After weeks of dry weather, rain varying from drizzle to moderate lashed the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, adding to the chill in the air and settling down the dust. However, unavailability of natural gas during the rain created more problems for the residents.

The sky was overcast on Thursday morning and the rain started in the afternoon which continued till late in the night with small breaks. Due to the drop in the temperature from 2 degrees Celsius to 1 degree on Thursday, a very low pressure of natural gas was reported in most parts of the twin cities.

On the other hand, the light rain created slushy mess in the low lying areas of the garrison city. The Meteorological Department recorded 1mm rain in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. However, it predicted very cold weather in Islamabad with foggy conditions during the morning hours of Friday.

A spokesman for the department stated that a shallow trough of westerly wave was affecting upper parts of the country. He said that a cold and dry weather was expected in most parts of the country, while partly cloudy in upper parts. However, more rain/snow over the mountains is expected in Gilgit-Baltistan, Kashmir and adjoining areas. Dense foggy conditions are likely to prevail over the plain areas of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and upper Sindh.

He said Malam Jabba received three inch snowfall, Kalam two and Murree one inch. He said that on Thursday the lowest minimum temperature of -11 degrees was recorded in Leh while Skardu recorded -10, Gupis, Astore -09, Hunza -06, Kalam, Gilgit -05, Malamjabba -04 and Parachinar, Dir and Bagrote -03.

The light rain brought relief to allergy patients. With the start of chill in the air, the number of seasonal fever patients increased in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

“During rain, allergy cases usually decrease because rain settled down the dust and clean the atmosphere,” said Dr Mazhar Azeem.

On the other hand, the rain threw normal life out of gear in the city areas. The rainwater accumulated on roads and streets in the city. Though there were slow business activities in all main markets, shops selling fish, French fries, samosas and soup did a thriving business.

Traffic jams were witnessed on main roads due to the faulty traffic signals and water accumulation on the roads. The traffic remained suspended at Asghar Mall Chowk, Chandni Chowk, Fowara Chowk, Kamran Market, The Mall and Tench Bhatta.

Published in Dawn, December 30th, 2022