LAHORE, Sept 1: Several cities in upper Punjab, including Lahore, received rain throughout Friday under the impact of a new monsoon system which the Flood Forecasting Division said might generate low to medium flooding in eastern rivers mainly the Chenab after 36 hours.

It could also cause urban flooding in some cities like Lahore, Sialkot, Mandi Bahauddin and Gujranwala but the situation would not be alarming, an official of the FFD said.

The monsoon depression over central Madhya Pradesh had been reduced to a well-marked low pressure but it was moving towards the sub-montane regions under the influence of a westerly system which would give moderate to heavy rainfalls over the upper and lower catchments of eastern rivers and upper Punjab during the next 36 hours, he said.

All rain-generating systems developed over the Bay of Bengal during the current monsoon had moved towards Sindh and Balochistan. And this system would be the first to move towards the sub-montane regions in the country.

The FFD official said there were ample chances of 100 to 125mm rain over the catchments of the rivers Ravi and Sutlej during the next 24 hours but they would not be flooded because the Indian dams over them had ample room to absorb the flow as they were 10 to 12ft below their maximum conservation levels.

“Both these rivers are flooded when India releases water in them and this time the chances are remote,” he said.

Under the Indus Basin Water Treaty, rivers Ravi and Chenab were given to India which constructed Thiern Dam over the former and Bong and Bhakra dams over the latter. India had also constructed barrages at Madhupur (the Ravi) and Ferozepur (the Sutlej) to feed its canals.

The official said the Ravi could receive 20,000 to 25,000 cusecs and the Sutlej 12,000 to 25,000 cusecs of water provided it rained between the Indian dams and their entry points to Pakistan namely Jassar and Ganda Singhwala.

He said the Chenab could receive over 100,000 cusecs of water after 36 hours which could generate low to medium flood in it. The catchments of river Jhelum would also receive rain but there were less chances of its flooding.

The officials said the system was not that much dangerous and it would start weakening by Saturday night.

The local Met office has forecast chances of widespread rain with moderate to heavy falls almost all over Punjab during the next 24 hours.

Meanwhile, the daylong intermittent rain in Lahore turned weather pleasant. People switched off airconditioners as the city’s maximum temperature dropped to 26.5 degrees C with 88 per cent humidity in the morning and 91 per cent in the afternoon. The minimum temperature during Thursday night was 24 degrees C.

It remained heavily overcast throughout the day and wind was bit cooler in the evening. Continuous rain caused traffic jams on busy thoroughfares during peak hours and flooding of low-lying areas made travel difficult.

By 5pm, the local Met office had recorded 25mm rain at the airport and 27mm at its Jail Road observatory. It said the city could receive more intermittent rain with moderate to heavy falls during the next 24 hours.

It said Murree received 65 mm rain, Sialkot 33mm, Muzaffarabad 20mm, Faisalabad 15mm, Sahiwal 14mm, Mandi Bahauddin 8mm, and Jhelum 7mm.