KARACHI: Cold winds swept across the city on a partly cloudy Wednesday amid forecast of a severe cold wave due to which temperature may fall to single digit from Thursday till January 17.

The Met department had issued an advisory regarding the cold and dry weather with minimum temperature ranging between 7-9 degrees Celsius on Thursday (today) and 5-7°C on Friday (tomorrow).

The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) has also asked relevant authorities to take mitigation measures including establishment of helplines in the flood-affected areas.

“The intensity of westerly winds is likely to reduce by tomorrow, though a cold wave will grip the city and other parts of the province after passing through Balochistan,” explained chief meteorologist Dr S. Sarfaraz.

He added that city’s weather conditions were induced by a low pressure area in the north.

According to Mr Sarfaraz, January is the coldest month of the year across the country. The lowest ever temperature in Karachi was recorded on Jan 21, 1934.

“Last year it was 7.5°C in January. In 1991-92, the temperature dropped to 0°C in the city,” he said, adding that weather phenomenon required detailed long-term studies to associate them with any factor.

The minimum temperature on Wednesday was 14°C with 35 to 45 per cent humidity in the morning and 15pc to 25pc humidity in the evening. The maximum wind speed recorded was 16 to 18knots.

Published in Dawn, January 12th, 2023