KARACHI, Sept 21: Widespread rains and storms are expected in the province during the next seven days, particularly between Saturday and Wednesday.

According to the director-general of the meteorological department, Qamaruz Zaman Chaudhry, a monsoon low pressure area persisting over west Central Bay of Bengal and the adjoining coastal areas of North Andhra Pradesh and South Orissa is likely to concentrate into a monsoon depression during the next 24 hours.

“This system is expected to move initially towards Sindh and then it may re-curve towards the Punjab”, he said. The Met Office chief said that strong monsoon currents had started reaching the Punjab and the upper parts of the country and after interacting with westerly currents, these could cause widespread rains in most parts of the country, particularly in the eastern parts of the Punjab and Sindh including cotton growing areas during the next seven days.

He said that the rainy spell was likely to start in Islamabad, the Punjab and Kashmir in the next 24 to 36 hours and might continue for a week.

Mr Chaudhry said that widespread rains and storms were expected in the interior of Sindh and Karachi during the next seven days particularly between Sept 22 and Sept 26.

Similarly, widespread rains and storms have been predicted for the NWFP. Scattered rainfall has also been predicted for Northeast and Southeast Balochistan during Sept 22 and Sept 26.

The Met Office has forecast a warm and dry weather in the city for the next 24 hours with the maximum temperature expected to range between 33 and 35 degrees centigrade.