ISLAMABAD, April 17: The Met office has predicted rain and dust/thunderstorm at scattered places throughout the country within the next 24 hours.

“A new system causing rain is moving from the western side and has already entered Pakistan. This system is likely to cause widespread rain covering areas in Kashmir, the NWFP, Balochistan, upper Punjab and lower Sindh,” the Met office spokesman said. He said gusty winds would accompany the rain while duststorm would hit the plain areas of the country, resulting in lowering of temperature.

Meanwhile, Nawabshah was the hottest place in the country with mercury touching 43 degrees. Other temperatures recorded in various cities were Multan, 39; Sargodha, 38; Lahore and Faisalabad, 36. In Islamabad, the maximum temperature was recorded as 32 with 14 as the minimum.

POLLEN COUNT: Paper Mulberry continues to remain very high at 2,058 per cubic metre of air out of a total of 2,086.

According to the pollen count report released by Met office, among other pollen detected in the air, grass with 15 was declared moderate followed by Alternaria (8), Acacia (2), Eucalyptus (2), Pines (1) and Cyprus (1), all in low category.