KARACHI: The city by the sea experienced its coldest day of the season on Sunday as the minimum temperature recorded in the metropolis was 6°C.

The Met department said the area of Jinnah Terminal was the coldest spot in Karachi, where temperature was recorded at 4.3°C, followed by Met Complex (5.2°C), PAF Masroor Base (7.5°C) and PAF Base Faisal (8.5°C).

Explaining why the department chose 6°C as the city’s representative temperature, Chief Meteorologist Dr S. Sarfaraz said: “This temperature was recorded in the department’s oldest standardised observatory, which is located in the old airport area.

“It’s not possible to measure the city’s average temperature because there are only five fully fledged observatories in Karachi, which record round-the-clock temperature. Two of which are run by PAF where the temperature recorded on Sunday morning was higher than 6°C,” he said.

Several suburban areas, he pointed out, might have lower temperatures.

“Right now, what we are experiencing in Sindh are the after effects of the system that has passed away towards the east. The minimum temperature of the city will increase to 10-12°C in two days. The next cold wave is expected by Jan 21 in Sindh when another westerly wave would enter Balochistan,” he said.

The department recorded the lowest temperature in the province in Mohenjo-Daro and Mithi (1°C) followed by Sukkur (1.5°C), Chhor (1.8°C), Paddidan (2°C), Tandojam (3°C), Dadu (3°C), Rohri (3.8°C), Larkana (4°C), Jacobabad (5°C), Shaheed Benazirabad (5°C), Badin (5°C), Hyderabad (6°C) and Thatta (6°C).

According to the department’s advisory, the cold wave is likely to continue in the province with night temperatures falling by 1°C to 5°C and is likely to prevail till Tuesday (tomorrow).

The department has forecast cold and dry weather in Karachi on Monday with temperature falling to 5-7°C in the early morning hours.

According to the department’s data, the lowest ever temperature of the city was 0°C, which was recorded on Jan 21, 1934. Last year, it was 7.5°C and 5.6°C in 2021, both temperatures recorded in January.

“In 1991, the city’s temperature dropped to 2.3°C on Jan 1,” Dr Sarfaraz shared, adding that long-term studies were required to associate any weather phenomenon with any factor.

Published in Dawn, January 16th, 2023