RAWALPINDI: Rain, varying from light to heavy, lashed the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad in the early hours of Sunday, while the Met Office predicted more rain over the next 24 hours.

The rain started on Saturday night and continued till Sunday morning with occasional gaps, but the sun overpowered the heavy clouds in the morning. However, later on Sunday evening, clouds again overcast the sky. The night-long rain created a slushy mess in the downtown areas of the garrison city. The weather was chilly in the morning, but the temperature rose once the weather cleared.

It was a difficult day for residents as they had to bear the brunt of slushy roads. Mud and puddles made city roads too slippery to drive on, especially for motorcyclists.

Strangely, the Chaklala Cantonment Board (CCB) and District Council administrations failed to carry out patchwork on roads that had been declared alternative routes for traffic at Kutchery Chowk, including Ch. Bostan Khan Road, Gulistan Colony Road, Askari Apartments Road near Chaklala Scheme-II, Lahore High Court Road, Jhanda Chichi Road, Civil Lines, Sir Syed Road and others, as potholes filled with water created problems for commuters.

In Rawalpindi city, the Water and Sanitation Agency also failed to drain water from low-lying areas on many roads.

However, the Met Office predicted that a westerly wave is affecting the upper and central parts of the country and is likely to persist till the morning of March 31. A shallow westerly trough also affected Sindh from March 29.

A Met Office official said widespread rain with wind and thunderstorms is expected in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, upper and central Punjab, Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir, while isolated places in northeast Balochistan and south Punjab may also receive rain. Heavy falls and isolated hailstorms are also likely during this period.

According to the Met Office advisory, due to heavy rains, flash flooding is likely in local nullahs and streams of northeast Balochistan in the early hours of March 31, while in upper and central Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Kashmir till March 30.

It stated that windstorms, hailstorms and lightning may damage weak structures such as electric poles, billboards and solar panels during the forecast period.

The Met Office recorded 16mm rain at Saidpur, 13mm at Zero Point, 8mm at Airport and Bokra, and 7mm at Golra in Islamabad, while in Rawalpindi it recorded 18mm at Kutchery, 16mm at Kattarian, 12mm at Gawalmandi, 11mm at Shamsabad, 9mm at Pirwadhai and 6mm at Chaklala.

Published in Dawn, March 30th, 2026