Chill back in air after rain

Islamabad: After intermittent rain overnight and in the morning, the skies remained overcast in Islamabad and Rawalpindi all through Wednesday.

The rain coupled with strong winds brought chill back in the air prompting the people to cover themselves by woollies before stepping out. It, however, threw the traffic on many roads in a mess.

Tailbacks were seen in many areas, especially in Rawalpindi, where the cops struggled to regulate the movement of vehicles due to the faulty traffic signals. Things were the worst at the arteries, which are under construction or where work on bridges is underway.

The road users, especially motorcyclists and commuters, complained that Islamabad was the beautiful and it got even more beautiful when it rained but whenever it rained, roads became messy.

They said things were even worse in Rawalpindi mainly due to potholed roads, faulty drainage system, and faulty traffic lights. According to Rashid Bilal of the Pakistan Meteorological Department, eight and four millimetres of rain was recorded in the capital city's Zero Point and Golra areas respectively and 10 and seven millimetres in the adjoining Rawalpindi's Chaklala and Shamsabad areas respectively during the last 24 hours.

The weatherman forecast more thundershowers with gusty winds in the two cities today (Thursday). The doctors welcomed the rainfall saying it will end health problems caused by the dry and cold spell like throat and chest infections, flu and fever.

The people turned to parks and recreational spots, including Pir Sohawa, Daman-i-Koh, Lake View Park, Fatima Jinnah Park, Shakarparian, Shahdara, Chattar, Jinnah Park and Nawaz Sharif Park, in large numbers to enjoy the weather, while high sales of samosas, pakoras, and jalebis were also reported.