KARACHI: People of the city, as well as other districts in the province, had to come out of their homes in warm clothing once again as the cold and dry northeastern winds unexpectedly intensified on Wednesday morning, leading to a significant drop in the temperature during the otherwise sizzling March.

However, the jackets, sweaters and pullovers later proved a predicament for many, especially for school-going children, as the temperature started increasing with each passing hour in the day and finally crossing the 30 degrees centigrade mark.

The Pakistan Meteorological Department said that the minimum temperature recorded in the city was 13.1°C, which according to officials is significantly lower than the average temperature of 19.4°C in the month of March.

The city also experienced extremely dry weather conditions due to a significant drop in humidity, or amount of moisture into the air, and change in wind direction.

According to the city weatherman, humidity in Karachi was 13 per cent in the morning and when the maximum temperature reached 31.7°C it was 14pc.

Other Sindh districts experienced a similar cold and dry weather on Wednesday. The minimum temperature — 3°C — was recorded in Mithi and Mohenjo-Daro; followed by 7°C in Sukkur and Nawabshah; 8°C in Dadu and 14°C in Hyderabad.

It forecasts dry weather, with gusty winds, in Karachi and most districts of the province on Thursday (today).

Hotter days ahead

Meteorologist Anjum Nazeer Zaigham told Dawn that the city had seen record low temperature of 7°C on March 3, 1979. He said that the minimum temperature recorded in March last year was 11.1°C.

The weatherman said that now there was an increasing trend of temperature in the city, which would experience somewhat hotter days in the current month.

He said that changing weather in the city came as several regions across Pakistan were experiencing significant rain and snowfall.

He said neighbouring Balochistan saw rain and snow in areas such as Qila Abdullah, Pishin, Saranan, Gulistan, Huramzai, Muslim Bagh, Sinjawi, Duki, Harnai, Loralai, Mekhtar and Khanozai.

Published in Dawn, March 6th, 2025