Mercury reaches 44°C, likely to go up by 5°C to 7°C

LAHORE:As mercury reached 44°C in the provincial metropolis on Tuesday, the Met office warned more hike in day temperature by 05°C to 07°C during the next 48 hours.

Met officials said day temperatures were likely to remain 05 to 07°C above normal in upper half (central & upper Punjab, Islamabad, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan), while 04 to 06°C above normal in southern half (upper and central Sindh, southern Punjab and parts of Balochistan) on 11th and 12th June. They said severe heatwave will continue till Thursday and advised the general public to avoid direct exposure to sunlight during the day time between (1100am to 0400 pm) and stay hydrated.

They said continental air was prevailing over most parts of the country while a high pressure in upper atmosphere was prevailing over the country and likely to persist during next two days. They predicted that mainly hot and dry weather was expected in most parts of the country on Wednesday (today) while very hot in plain areas. However, dust raising/gusty winds were likely in the plain areas in the afternoon.

Tuesday’s maximum temperature was recorded at Bhakkar where mercury reached 50°C, while in Lahore, it was 44°C and real feel was 46°C. Meanwhile, the average AQI in the City was 84 while the PM2.5 concentration was 5.4 times the World Health Organisation annual PM2.5 guideline value.