ISLAMABAD, March 24: Heavy downpour, followed by gale, lashed the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, bringing a pleasant change in weather which was getting hotter during the last couple of weeks.

The director-general of Met office, Dr Qamaruz Zaman, told this scribe on Sunday that this Westerly system of rains had entered Pakistan and was expected to leave the country late Sunday night.

He said a total of 12mm of rain was received in Islamabad during the past 48 hours. He said there were less rains this season, specially in March.

Islamabad and the adjoining areas received some 30mm of rain during the current month while the average rainfall in this region was 90mm.

The Met office recorded a maximum tempareture of 29.5 degrees Celcius and a minimum of 15.5 degrees Celsius in Islamabad on Sunday.

Cloudy weather has been forecast in most parts of upper Punjab, Kashmir and the Northern Areas in the next 24 hours.