Rain now expected from Monday afternoon in Karachi: PMD

The first spell of the current monsoon season for Karachi is now expected to start on Monday after the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said on Saturday that under the influence of a low pressure area (LPA), the city could receive first healthy showers from Monday afternoon to Wednesday morning.

“The rain-causing system that is going to formed in the Bay of Bengal has weakened a little and it is taking a little longer in formation. Now, instead of Sunday evening, we are expecting rain in Karachi from Monday afternoon,” said Sardar Sarfraz, chief meteorological officer, Sindh, while talking to The News on Saturday.

A rain emergency has already been declared by the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) and the Sindh health department in the wake of possible rains, but the Met office said that with each passing hour, the rain-causing system was weakening and taking time in reaching Karachi.

“We are now expecting rain between 30 and 60 millimetres under the influence of a low pressure area formed in the Bay of Bengal. There may be more rain in the city if the system persists and start getting moisture from the Arabian Sea,” he maintained. On the other hand, international weather experts said southeast Pakistan, including Karachi, was going to have rains from Sunday evening till Tuesday evening as the low pressure area would cause heavy rains in Indian states of Rajasthan and Gujarat from Saturday night till Monday before entering southeast Pakistan.

“Low near #Odisha & #Jharkhand will track westward over the next few days. Heavy rain will impact #Rajasthan& #Gujarat Saturday night into Monday, then SE #Pakistan, including #Karachi Sunday night into Tuesday,” said Jason Nicholls, lead international forecaster for AccuWeather.com that provides weather forecasts throughout the world.