First winter rain adds to chill

LAHORE:The first winter rain, though scattered and trace, hit the provincial metropolis and brought cold winds here on Monday.

The drizzle lowered down temperature in the City, which was expected further plunge at night, Met officials said, adding different parts of the city witnessed scattered rain during early hours on Monday. Met officials said following the early morning drizzle in Lahore, minimum temperature came down to 14.6°C and maximum was 24°C. The scattered rain was witnessed at various localities, including Johar Town, Township, Gulshan Ravi, Walled City, Gulberg, Model Town, Tajpura, Cantonment areas and etc.

As the winter clouds settled in different areas, field formations of Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) were put on red alert by its Managing Director Ghafran Ahmed. He visited different city localities during the drizzle and directed Wasa officials to be alert. Wasa MD directed the officials to check the disposal stations and put generators on standby so that they could be used in case of power outage during rain.

Following the drizzle, cold winds started to blow increasing the demand of winter clothes and other related items as still in mid-November, a large number of citizens were seen wearing summer dresses.

The ongoing exorbitant inflation has created an extra rush at stalls of old and used winter clothes near Lahore Railway Station, Landa Bazaar, Anarkali Bazaar and many other localities where citizens were seen buying warm clothes. Similarly, a rush was observed at the stalls and shops of dry fruit while people were seen taking sips of different types of soups, broth and other hot drinks at roadside stalls, restaurants and at their homes.

Dr Tariq Chishti, a family physician, said that the weather change would bring in common flu and cough. He advised the citizens to cover themselves properly especially children and elderly citizens should use warm clothes while going outdoor. As soon as the winter winds started blowing, several city areas also witnessed drop in gas pressure as well as load-shedding of natural gas. Many citizens also complained about the increase of LPC cylinders and coal prices in different areas. Meanwhile, Met officials said a westerly wave was present over western and upper parts of the country and likely to move eastward during next 12 to 18 hours.

They predicted that mainly dry and cold weather was expected in most parts of the country. However, isolated rain-wind/thunderstorm (snow over the hills) was likely in Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. Rain was recorded in several cities, including Noorpur Thal, Attock, Bhakkar, Hafizabad, Sargodha, Mandi Bahauddin, Gujrat, Joharabad, Jhelum, Mangla, Murree, Sialkot, Islamabad, Faisalabad, Jhang, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Khanewal, Chakwal, Multan, Pattan, Malam Jabba, Dir, Balakot, Cherat, Kakul, Saidu Sharif, Kalam, Parachinar, Mir Khani, DI Khan, Drosh, Peshawar, Mardan, Bacha Khan, Bannu, Chitral, Rawalakot, Muzaffarabad, Garhi Dupatta, Kotli and Zhob. Monday’s minimum temperature was recorded at Leh where mercury dropped to -08°C while in Lahore, it was 14.6°C and maximum was 27°C.