ISLAMABAD: More thunderstorms accompanied by limited precipitation are expected in the current month, which will reduce night time temperature.

The Met Office has predicted thunderstorm with rain and gusty winds on Thursday at scattered places in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Punjab, Gilgit-Baltistan as well as Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

“Though another system is expected to develop on April 17, making predictions in the months of April and May can be tricky due to the transitional period,” said a Met Office official.

April and May experience strong winds due to the low pressure created by heat during the day. “Due to low pressure created by high heat, the winds start flowing from cooler areas in the west, resulting in strong thunderstorms,” the official added.

Rain on Tuesday night was preceded by winds reaching around 60-65km per hour whereas the thunderstorm on Sunday was up to 70km per hour in the capital.

Similarly, winds on Sunday reached around 80km per hour in Chaklala area in Rawalpindi.

The direction of the wind changes from the west to the east after July, whereas June remains calm in terms of air stream with negligible thunderstorms. June, however, is the hottest month in the country.

“Following excessive heat and dryness, monsoon winds start to arrive from the Bay of Bengal to fill in the vacuum created by the low air pressure,” the official said, adding that “as a result, the pre-monsoon and monsoon rains hit the country in July, while it is earlier in India,” the official said.

Due to the heat and long distance covered by the winds, the storms during monsoon season reach the speed of 100km per hour during July and August and at times in September.

Published in Dawn, April 11th, 2019