Rainfall forecast amid searing temperatures

Islamabad: With Islamabad and Rawalpindi sweltering in high temperatures, the Met Office has forecast a welcome rainfall today (Monday) and tomorrow (Tuesday).

The mercury has gone up to 41 degree Centigrade in the two cities forcing people to stay indoors in the daytime to prevent heat exhaustion. According to a weatherman, mainly hot and dry weather is expected in most parts of the country and very hot in eastern Balochistan, Sindh and plain areas of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Monday and Tuesday.

He, however, said rain coupled with dust and thunderstorms was expected to fall at isolated places in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. The weatherman also forecast rainfall in Malakand, Hazara, Mardan, Peshawar, Kohat, Sargodha and Gujranwala divisions and parts of Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

The doctors warned people that extreme heat could harm their health and could even claim life. Dr Wasim Khawaja of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences said severe heat wave dehydrates the body and thus, causing heat exhaustion or heat stroke, which needed the immediate treatment. He said moving to a cool place, drinking plenty of water, and cooling oneself by a shower or a wet piece of cloth could stop the body from overheating. The medical expert said the victims of heat stroke should be placed in a cool place; ventilation should be ensured by opening windows or using a fan, and clothes should be loosened before they should be sprinkled with cold water.

He added that if conscious, the heatstroke victims should be given water to drink before they're shifted to the nearby hospital for treatment. Offices reopen: Both locals and people of other cities thronged parks, recreational spots and shopping malls in Islamabad on Sunday, the last day of the long Eidul Fitr holidays, causing massive traffic jams on roads. Offices will reopen today (Monday) after remaining closed since Tuesday on account of the official Eid break.

Long queues of vehicles were seen on IJP Road, Margalla Road, 7th and 9th avenues, and Murree Road. Some people parked the cars, vans, and buses along the roadside kilometres ahead of their destinations, especially Faisal Masjid, Daman-e-Koh and Pir Sohawa, due to traffic mess and covered long distances by foot. Heated exchanges were seen among motorists at some places over wrong parking and minor crashes. Though deployed in large numbers, the cops struggled to regulate the messy traffic. They insisted that the roads were crowded mostly due to the influx of non-locals. The traffic police said things would return to normal on Monday.

In the day, Faisal Masjid, Daman-e-Koh, Pir Sohawa, Shakarparian, Pakistan Monument, Lakeview Park, Margzar Zoo, Play Land, Shahdara, and Centaurus attracted large crowds of people. The restaurants and fast food outlets also reported the huge influx of visitors.