Monsoon wetter than normal this time around

Islamabad

The Pakistan Meteorological Department on Thursday alerted the people across the country, including Islooites, to the possibility of the coming monsoon being wetter than normal.

In a special weather advisory issued on Thursday in the shape of the ‘Outlook for Summer Monsoon 2016’, PMD director general Ghulam Rasul said the monsoon rains were likely to be higher than normal this time around.

According to him, the El Niño weather phenomenon has weakened to favour the La Niña phenomenon, the cooling of the tropical Pacific Ocean, to develop during the summer season and thus, bringing heavier rainfall to the region.

“The prevailing oceanic and atmospheric conditions are giving indications of good summer monsoon rainfall in the country,” he said.

In the advisory ‘based on statistical and dynamical downscaling of global circulation models and prepared at 80 per cent confidence level for planning purposes,’ the PMD chief said the rainfall was likely to be 10-20 per cent ‘above normal’ in the country during the monsoon season from July through September.

“More than average rainfall is expected in Islamabad, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and northeast Balochistan,” he said.

While forecasting some ‘extreme rainfall events’ in the catchment areas of major rivers and other parts of the country, which may cause floods, the country’s top weatherman said there was a high likelihood of heavy downpour generating flash floods along the Suleman Range.

He said heavy rains could flood big cities as well.

Ghulam Rasul also warned some strong incursions of monsoon currents coupled with high temperatures could trigger glacial lake outburst floods, landslides and flash floods in upper parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan.

He said the outlook was based on the recent data and it would be updated on monthly basis i.e. the first week of every each month in view of the changing behaviour of different meteorological parameters.  The experts fear heavy loss to public life and property due to the imminent monsoon.