RAWALPINDI: Rain, lightning and gusty winds lashed the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad on Tuesday, bringing chill to the air and creating slushy mess on roads.

Black clouds blanketed the twin cities for the last two days and rain continued varying from light to heavy on Tuesday. However, the Met Office predicted cloudy weather on Wednesday.

The temperature dropped to 13 degrees Celsius in the twin cities and forced the residents to pull out woolies.

The Met Office said a strong westerly wave was affecting the upper and central parts of the country and may persist in upper parts till Wednesday morning.

It said that dry weather was expected in most parts of the country and rain (snow over high mountains) at a few places in upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and Potohar region.

Rain/thunderstorm occurred in Islamabad, Punjab, KP, northern/central Balochistan, Kashmir, upper Sindh and Gilgit-Baltistan while snowfall was reported in Kalam, Malamjabba and Astore.

The Met Office recorded 55mm rain at the airport, 39mm at Bokra, 34mm at Zero Point, 33mm at Golra and 32mm at Saidpur in Islamabad and 31mm at Shamsabad and 27mm at Chaklala in Rawalpindi.

The rain inundated the underpass of Committee Chowk and low lying areas of the garrison city. The Water and Sanitation Agency cleaned the areas with heavy machinery.

Wasa Managing Director Raja Shaukat Mehmood said holidays of the staff had been cancelled and they have been put on alert to avoid any untoward situation in the city.

He said Wasa teams cleared drains with the help of heavy machinery at Committee Chowk underpass, Liaquat Bagh, Asghar Mall Chowk and Murree Road.

The district administration and the Met Office are in touch and ready to deal with any kind of emergency till Wednesday.

He asked the citizens not to leave their homes unnecessarily and stay away from electricity lines and poles.

Published in Dawn, March 24th, 2021