LAHORE: Heavy clouds and widespread showers turned the weather pleasant across Lahore and several cities of Punjab during early hours on Thursday. Some areas of the provincial metropolis received hails as well.

Intermittent rainfall, strong winds and thunderstorm were recorded in different parts of the provincial capital and provided relief from the rising heat during the holy month.

According to rainfall data released by the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) and the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) Lahore, showers occurred in two spells in Lahore - early Thursday morning from 4:45am to 5:38am and again from 8:20am to 9:42am.

In Lahore, rain fell in several neighbourhoods including Dharampura, Mughalpura, Garhi Shahu, Canal Road, Ferozepur Road, Ichhra, Model Town, Green Town, Kacha Jail Road and Chungi Amar Sidhu. Kot Lakhpat, Nishter Colony, Jain Mandar, Chauburji and parts of Multan Road also received showers.

Rainfall intensity varied across the city and highest showers were recorded 12.6 mm at Gulshan-i-Ravi, followed by Samanabad 10 mm, Farrukhabad 8.6 mm, Saggian 7.8 mm, Paniwala Talab 6.4 mm, Tajpura 6.2 mm, Lakshmi Chowk 6 mm and the Wasa Head Office in Gulberg 5.8 mm. Jail Road received 5 mm, while several areas reported only trace rainfall. Despite light water accumulation at some spots, traffic flow largely remained normal.

Across Punjab, the highest rainfall during the last 24 hours was recorded in Murree and Chakwal at 16 mm, followed by Attock 13 mm and Sheikhupura 12 mm, according to the PDMA report. Rawalpindi recorded up to 10 mm in some localities, while Gujranwala received 8 mm and Mandi Bahauddin around 7 mm.

Light rainfall was also reported in Sialkot, Mianwali, Mangla, Faisalabad, Sargodha, Hafizabad, Gujrat, Narowal and Jhelum.

Rainfall and gusty winds were also reported in Muridke, Pindi Bhattian, Talagang, Gujranwala, Lalamusa, Kharian, Narowal, Shakargarh, Nowshera Virkan and Khanqah Dogran. In several areas, thunderstorms accompanied the showers and briefly disrupted electricity supply.

Meanwhile, the Wasa Lahore remained on high alert to deal with any urban flooding situation.

Wasa Vice Chairman Chaudhry Shehbaz Ahmed, DG Tayyab Fareed and Managing Director Ghufran Ahmed directed field teams to keep major roads and underpasses clear.

They also ordered all disposal station pumps to remain operational and directed the town directors to continuously monitor drainage conditions to prevent water accumulation.

According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department, more rain is expected in the next 24 hours with partly cloudy skies forecast for Lahore. The minimum temperature in the city was recorded at 21 Celsius, while the maximum is expected to reach around 30 Celsius. Winds may blow at about 13 km/h, with humidity levels hovering near 70 per cent.

The citizens said that the cool breeze and light rain made fasting easier. “The rain has brought back the departing winter and the atmosphere feels refreshing again,” a resident said.

Published in Dawn, March 13th, 2026