People suffer traffic jams, power cuts as afternoon rain continues

The brief spell of heavy rain, which Karachi received on Monday and Tuesday in the afternoon hours, also occurred on the third consecutive day on Wednesday.

According to Met Office director Sardar Sarfraz, the rain has been caused by a low pressure area that is currently present in the Indian state of Rajasthan.

The lower region of Sindh, including Karachi, is receiving downpour due to the extension of that low pressure, Sarfraz said. He added that halt in the sea breeze has also played a major role in the heavy rainfall during the afternoon hours. Dr Naeem Sadiq of the University of Karachi’s Institute of Environmental Sciences said there are several reasons behind the occurrence of rainfall in the city exactly after 2pm for three consecutive days. This is the time, he said, the city hits the maximum temperature. He added that due to the halt in sea breeze, the air lifts the clouds when the land heats up, which causes rain.

Meanwhile, Sarfraz did not rule out the chances of the low pressure area present in Rajasthan hitting lower Sindh, including Karachi, by Thursday night or Friday morning. The rain, he said, will most likely continue in the same pattern for two to three days in the city and may cause urban flooding. However, the system, according to him, will not be as strong as it was in early September before Eidul Azha.

According to the Met Office, it rained 36.2 millimetres (mm) in Surjani Town on Wednesday. The rain was recorded at 12mm in Landhi, 9mm in Gulshan-e-Hadeed and Gulistan-e-Jauhar, 8mm in North Karachi, 3mm in Nazimabad and Pehelwan Goth, 2.5mm in Saddar and 1mm at Masroor Base.

The Pakistan Meteorological Department has already forecast thundershowers at isolated places in lower Sindh, including Mirpurkhas, Umerkot, Sanghar, Hyderabad, Shaheed Benazirabad, Badin, Thatta, Dadu and Karachi today (Thursday). The showers, according to a statement, may continue until Monday at some places.

While weather turned pleasant after the downpour, many areas of the city faced hours-long power cuts, including Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Nazimabad, North Nazimabad, North Karachi, Surjani Town, PECHS, Defence Housing Authority and other areas.

Meanwhile, K-Electric (KE) in a press statement said that the power supply situation remained stable as Karachi received another wave of monsoon showers on Wednesday. Power supply was temporarily switched off in a few low-lying areas including Korangi, Gadap, Bin Qasim and Surjani as well as in areas with a high prevalence of Kundas in the interest of public safety, the statement read. Heavy traffic jams were also witnessed in different parts of the city, especially on Sharea Faisal, Rashid Minhas Road, Malir, Sohrab Goth, Korangi Industrial Area and Clifton.