Fall in mercury brings no respite as humidity levels rise drastically

The Karachiites endured another sweltering day on Thursday after humidity in the air increased to 65 per cent, enhancing the discomfort level for the citizens despite a drastic fall in the temperature to 38.4 degrees Celsius, Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) officials said.

Karachi had experienced the highest temperature in May after 37 years on Wednesday when the mercury soared to 46 degrees Celsius, with humidity reducing to less than 10 per cent under the influence of dry and warm winds from the north-westerly direction after the sea breeze stopped blowing towards the city.

“A three-day heatwave is over from today and we are expecting the weather to remain warm with the maximum temperature remaining between 36 and 38 degrees Celsius on Friday,” Director Karachi Met Office Abdur Rashid said, adding that they were not seeing any further increase in the temperature in the next few days.

But Met officials warned that humidity in the air would remain very high, which would result in discomfort for the people despite low temperatures as the feel-like temperature would be higher than the actual temperature. They urged the people to remain cautious in the hot and humid weather.

Pakistan in has been in the grip of an intense heatwave for the last two to three days and, under its influence, many cities in Sindh, Balochistan and southern Punjab are experiencing extremely hot conditions, with temperatures ranging between 49 and 51 degrees Celsius. Met officials said the intense heatwave was expected to last another four to five days.

“Jaccobabad experienced the hottest day of the country when the mercury soared to 51 degrees Celsius, but Pakistan’s record of the highest temperature was formed in May 2017 when the mercury rose to 54 degrees Celsius in the Turbat town of Balochistan,” Rashid said.

As far as Karachi is concerned, being a coastal city, it is influenced by changes in the Arabian Sea and whenever some low pressure areas or depressions are formed in the sea, they result in change in the city’s weather, he said, adding that with the resumption of the sea breeze towards Karachi from tomorrow, the city’s temperature would reduce but humidity level would increase.

“We are expecting warmer days ahead with high humidity so that the month of June or at least the remaining days of fasting would be as difficult as the previous ones. I would urge people to remain cautious and vigilant and take precautionary measures to protect themselves from any weather-related illness while fasting,” Rashid said.

On the other hand, the power and water supply situation remained dismal on Thursday too when hundreds of people complained of unannounced power outages and scarcity of water in different areas of the city. A large number of citizens, including children and elderly people from different areas of the city, held a sit-in, which was organized by the Jamaat-e-Islami against the prolonged shortage of water in different localities, including Lyari, Landhi, Korangi, Malir, Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Federal B Area and North Karachi.