Forecasting a moderate to heavy spell of monsoon rains in the eastern parts of Sindh from Sunday night and Monday evening, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) on Friday said Karachi could receive ‘good showers’ from Monday evening till Wednesday afternoon, which could also result in inundation of low-lying city areas.
“Monsoon currents are expected to strengthen in Sindh that may generate widespread rains, wind and thundershowers in the province, particularly in Karachi, Hyderabad, Thatta, Badin, Sanghar, Mirpurkhas, Tharparkar, Umarkot, Jamsharo and Dadu from Sunday (night) to Tuesday. Few heavy falls are also expected during the period,” an advisory issued by the PMD informed authorities and the people.
The advisory said heavy rainfalls may generate urban-flooding in Karachi, Thatta, Badin and Hyderabad on Monday and Tuesday. It advised the relevant authorities to take precautionary measures and remain alert during the forecast period.
Commenting on the latest development, Chief Meteorological Officer (CMO) at Karachi Sardar Sarfraz told The News that a monsoon low pressure is likely to approach the eastern parts of Sindh on Sunday night and Monday morning, which would cause rains with dust and thunderstorm in Tharparker, Badin, Thatta, Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas during between Monday and Wednesday.
“Karachi will also experience dust and thunderstorm with rain of moderate to high intensity from the evening of July 6 till the afternoon of July 8. During this period, 50 to 60 millimetres of rain is expected, which can also vary but a moderate to heavy spell of 30 to 40 mm can cause inundation of low-lying areas and accumulation of rainwater and sewage on the roads,” warned Sardar Sarfraz.
Above normal
The Pakistan Meteorological Department has predicted a 10 per cent above-normal monsoon rains in Pakistan, but at least 20 per cent more rains in Sindh and Kashmir, saying due to the global climatic conditions, Pakistan may observe slightly above the normal rainfall which could also result in some untoward incidents in some of the areas, including Kashmir, Punjab or even in Sindh. “Monsoon rainfall is expected to be slightly above normal (+10%) from July to September 2020 in Pakistan. Sindh and Kashmir are likely to receive moderately above normal (+20%) rainfall during the season,” an advisory of the PMD issued earlier said, adding that area-weighted normal rainfall of Pakistan during July to September was 140.8 mm.
Commenting on this, Sardar Sarfraz said that “global SST forecast” showed that the El Nino Southern Oscillations (ENSO) and the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), which affect the South Asian summer monsoon rainfall, were likely to remain neutral during the coming monsoon season. “Based on global and regional circulation models, Sindh and Kashmir are likely to get above normal rainfall, which could be up to 20 per cent more than normal.”
Experts said that residents in Karachi should brace for more power outages following rains in the current monsoon season. They said Karachi was already in the grip of an acute power crisis that could further aggravate in the rainy season.