KARACHI: The minimum temperature in the city may drop to five to seven degrees Celsius from the night between Wednesday and Thursday under the influence of Siberian winds affecting the whole region, the Met department stated in its advisory on Tuesday.

“A cold wave is likely to grip Sindh from Jan 12 to Jan 17. Under its influence, minimum temperature may drop to 2-4°C in Larkana, Qambar Shahdadkot, Kashmore, Jacobabad, Jamshoro, Dadu, Tharparkar districts,” it said.

Mercury may drop to 3-5°C in Shaheed Benazirabad, Naushahro Feroze, Khairpur, Sukkur, Ghotki, Sanghar districts, it said, adding that the minimum temperature in Karachi, Hyderabad, Tando Allahyar, Tando Muhammad Khan and Thatta districts is expected to range between 5°C and 7°C.

On Tuesday, the minimum temperature recorded in the city was 13.5°C. The Met department has forecast fair but slight windy weather conditions for Wednesday (today) with minimum temperature ranging between 12°C and 14°C.

The foggy weather, the Met office said, will become less intense in Hyderabad, Sukkur and Larkana.

Weather analyst Owais Hyder, the founder of Pak Weather Network, said that it’s not Karachi alone as majority of the country would be witnessing extreme weather condition in the next few days.

He referred to “weak polar vortex” which forces Siberian winds to become stronger and blow with full intensity in the region that leads to a cold wave.

“So many areas may see record-breaking events of this winter season in the coming days,” he said.

Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2023