LAHORE: Heavy to moderate rain inundated several city localities here on Monday while Met office predicted more scattered rain during the next 24 hours.
Black clouds covered the city skies early morning and finally freezing rain hit the city. The rain started around 11pm on Sunday and continued till Monday night. Long-hour traffic jams were also reported on various city roads as rainwater remained stagnant.
The rainwater finally washed out smog filled sky of the provincial capital as city roads were filled with whitish rainwater indicating that it contained many pollutants, which remained stagnant in Lahore’s air for the past several days. Monday’s rain also brought out the original green look of the city.
On the other hand, stagnant rainwater slowed down the traffic on city roads, including Ferozepur Road, Canal Bank Road, The Mall, Mozang, Jail Road, Baghbanpura, MM Alam Road, Punjab University, Allama Iqbal Town, Johar Town, Sabzazar, Multan Road, Chauburji, Anarkali, Data Darbar, Shahdara, Mughalpura, Bibi Pakdaman, Davis Road, Shalimar Link Road, Shadbagh, GT Road and, etc.
Meanwhile, Met officials said a westerly wave is still affecting most upper and central parts of the country and likely to persist in upper parts till Wednesday. They predicted more widespread rain in Malakand, Hazara, Mardan, Kohat, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Lahore Divisions, Islamabad, Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, while at scattered places in Peshawar, Sargodha and Faisalabad Divisions.
A few moderate to heavy falls are also expected in Malakand, Hazara, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala Divisions, Islamabad and Kashmir. More snowfall over hills is also expected in Malakand Division (Swat, Chitral, Kalam, Malam Jabba & upper Dir), Hazara Division, Murree, Galliyat, Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan during the period.
Rainfall was observed in several cities, including Islamabad (Golrha 44mm, Saidpur 39mm, IIAP 37mm, Bokra 31mm, Z.P 27mm), Murree 38mm, Rawalpindi (Chaklala 29mm, Shamsabad 28mm), Sialkot (A/P 24mm, City 20mm), Gujranwala 23mm, Gujrat 22mm, Hafizabad 17mm, Jhelum 15mm, Okara, Sahiwal 14mm, Mandi Bahauddin 12mm, Mangla, Narowal 10mm, Bahawalpur (AP 09mm, City 08mm), Kasur 09mm, Kamra 08mm, Khanpur 05mm, Bahawalnagar, Faisalabad, TT Singh 03mm, Sargodha 02mm, Chakwal 01mm, Malam Jabba 43mm, Balakot 33mm, Pattan 30mm, Kalam 29mm, Kakul 28mm, Saidu Sharif 21mm, Chitral 12mm, Mirkhani, Drosh 06mm, Dir (upper, lower 05mm), Parachinar 01mm, Karachi (University Road 40mm, Pehlwan Ghot 33mm, Landhi 31mm, A/P 19mm, PAF Masroor 18mm, Nazimabad 14, Shahrah e Faisal 12, Gulshan e Hadid 10, North Karachi 07), Padidan 17, Sakrand 15, Rohri 13, Tandojam 12, Dadu 11, Shaheed Benazirabad 10, Mirpurkhas 09, Sukkur, Jacobabad 07, Larkana, Hyderabad 06, Moenjodaro 04, Muzaffarabad 39, Rawalakot 30, Kotli 23, Garidupatta 14, GB: Hunza 10, Bunji 04, Skardu 03, Chillas and Bagrote 01mm. Snowfall was observed at Kalam, Malam Jabba, Chitral, Astore, Skardu, Murree, Drosh and Hunza.
Monday’s minimum temperature was recorded at Gupis and Bagrote where mercury dropped down to -07°C while at Skardu it was -06°C, at Parachinar and Astore it was -04, at Kalat, Malam Jabba, Kalam, Hunza and Quetta it was -03°C, at Drosh it was -02°C, at Rawalakot, Dalbandin and Mirkhani it was -01°C. In Lahore minimum temperature was 8.4°C and maximum was 15.5°C.
Meanwhile, Albayrak Waste Management has deployed a sanitary squad to ensure smooth flow of rainwater from the city roads. Communications & Operations teams of Albayrak Monday visited Lakshmi Chowk and its adjacent localities to monitor cleanliness operations during the rain. --The teams also visited residential and commercial areas to seek public cooperation in proper waste disposal. Citizens were urged not to throw waste and garbage on streets and roads. They were requested to lodge their complaints with helpline 1139 for quick resolution.