Gusty winds postpone exams, disrupt flight plans

Karachi
Strong dusty winds toppled desks over and uprooted tents pitched at the University of Karachi on Thursday for the male students of BCom Part I (regular) taking their Introduction to Business examination.
Other makeshift exam centres set up at the university met with a similar fate, causing the KU administration to postpone the exams.
However, the female students were able to take their exams without any hindrances within the safe boundary walls of colleges across the city.

City airport shunned
Three aircraft scheduled to land at the Jinnah International Airport diverted to other countries because of low visibility and wind speed in the city. However, one of the international flights landed safely at the Karachi airport.
Civil Aviation Authority spokesman Pervez George said weather advisory reports were always shared with the local airports and airlines.
It is up to cockpit crews to decide whether they wish to take an alternative route and land at the airport or opt for an alternative destination, he added.
“Between 10 and 11am three international flights did not land according to schedule and diverted to nearby locations, while one flight landed safely. The visibility was around 800 metres, which was probably one of the major factors in diversion of flights.”
Later, visibility improved to three kilometres and no other flight diverted from the Karachi airport, said George, adding that regular flight operations remained unaffected.

More winds in store
Karachi is likely to experience dry weather with gusty winds on Friday, according to weather reports. The minimum temperature is expected to remain between 12 and 14 degrees Celsius.
The reports also stated that cold to very cold weather was likely to prevail in the rest of Sindh as well as in Balochistan.
The wind speed on Thursday was around 30 nautical miles. The minimum and maximum temperatures were 13.5 degrees Celsius and 24 degrees Celsius, respectively, with 22 percent humidity.