Mercury rises as sea breeze halts

Residents of Karachi on Saturday were forced to stay indoors due to high temperatures as mercury surged to 39.5 degrees Celsius.

The rise in temperatures was caused by the halt in sea breeze due to a two low-pressure area in the upper Sindh. The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has warned the public of at least two more hot and dry days ahead.

“A low pressure area in the upper Sindh has changed the wind direction towards Karachi causing suspension of sea breeze which cools the city down. Winds coming from the plains of Sindh and Balochistan have increased the city’s temperature,” said Karachi Met Office Director Abdur Rashid, adding that the maximum temperature recorded on Saturday in the metropolis was 39.5 degrees Celsius.

According to Rashid, residents of Karachi will have to endure hot and dry weather on Sunday (today) and Monday (tomorrow) as well due to the influence of the same low-pressure area. He predicted that the mercury will rise to 40 degrees Celsius today while it will range between 37 and 39 degrees Celsius on Monday.

The Met Office director said he expected temperatures to drop from Tuesday due to the restoration of sea breeze. He added that the mercury level is expected to remain between 33 and 35 degrees Celsius from Tuesday onwards.

On the other hand, a low pressure area has also developed in the Arabian Sea, which is expected to transform into a tropical cyclone, Met Office officials said, adding that they were monitoring the situation in the Arabian Sea to track movements of the possible cyclone.

Tropical cyclones are formed in the Arabian Sea before or after the monsoon season and result in heavy rains and turbulent winds that cause flash floods, the officials said. They, however, added that it was too early to determine the track of the expected tropical cyclone.

The Met Office officials maintained that the situation of the cyclone will be understandable by Monday. If the cyclone moves towards north-westerly direction, it may cause rains in Yemen, Oman and other countries of the Arabian Peninsula and if it moves towards north, it may result in rains in Pakistan and south-eastern areas of Iran.

Rashid said the PMD is likely to issue an advisory on the tropical cyclone either on Monday evening or Tuesday morning. “At this moment, tropical cyclone is in the making but our assessment says it is likely to move in the north-westerly direction towards Yemen and Oman. Chances are less that it will move towards us but we are alert and are closely monitoring this system in the Arabian Sea,” the Met Office director said.