KARACHI: Many city areas received intermittent showers on Monday amid persisting high humidity and slow return of the sea breeze.

The maximum temperature recorded was 37.6 degrees Celsius with relative humidity recorded at 5pm was 79 per cent.

“Since 2pm, the low pressure area over the Indian state of Gujarat and the Arabian Sea has started moving away, making way for the sea breeze to return to the city,” said Chief Meteorologist Dr Sardar Safaraz.

He added that weather conditions were expected to improve slightly on Tuesday (today).

He explained that the low atmospheric pressure had not only moved westward but also lost its intensity now after inducing rain in lower Sindh including parts of Karachi, Thatta, Badin, Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas and Sujawal over the past few days.

“This is why we are expecting a complete return of the normal July weather conditions from tomorrow onwards. The normal pattern is likely to continue for at least four to five days,” he added.

About the next monsoon spell in the city, he said it was expected by the end of July.

“During the active monsoon period, rainy spells usually occur after a break of seven to 10 days. You might have observed that the first spell in Karachi this season came on July 8-9 followed by another spell on 18-19. Hence, we are expecting the next spell on July 28-29,” he said.

According to the Met department’s daily advisory, the city is likely to have partly cloudy, humid weather with light rain/drizzle in the evening or night.

The maximum temperature is expected to range between 34°C and 36°C.

According to the Met department’s data taken at 5:50pm, Gadap (near Baqai hospital) received 4.2mm rain, old airport area 0.5mm, Jinnah Terminal 1.6mm, PAF Faisal Base 1mm, Met Complex (University Road) 1.2mm, Gulshan-i-Maymar 1.4mm and Malir Halt 1.2mm. ‘Trace’ was recorded in North Karachi, Surjani Town and Keamari.

Published in Dawn, July 23rd, 2024