LAHORE: The residents of Lahore experienced a brief respite from the scorching heat on Monday evening when strong winds, gusting over 100 kilometers per hour, swept through the city, followed by a light shower - with traces recorded in some areas and up to 1 millimeter in others.

However, meteorological officials tempered hopes of a long-term reprieve from the heat, predicting that the winds and rain would clear within the next two hours and the mercury would drop slightly before rising again by morning, with the heatwave expected to return.

“The partly cloudy conditions will clear in the next one to two hours,” said an official from the Meteorological Department. While a week-long advisory offers some hope, predicting dusty winds in upper and central Punjab between June 4 and June 8, it also warns of a “flash drought” - a condition that occurs when low rainfall is accompanied by consistently high temperatures over a short period.

According to the Met office advisory, flash droughts develop and intensify rapidly, often within weeks or even days, leading to quick increases in evapo-transpiration rates and depletion of available water in the top layer of soil. Although the country received slightly above-normal rainfall from January to May 29, 2024, the below-normal rainfall and soaring temperatures in May, particularly in southern Pakistan, may lead to flash drought conditions, the Met office warned farmers.

Published in Dawn, June 4th, 2024