At 7.5°C, Karachi shivers in season’s coldest night

Karachi experienced the coldest night of this winter season after the mercury dropped to 7.5 degrees Celsius during the previous night, said the Met Office on Thursday, adding that the cold wave will continue under the influence of Siberian winds for at least the next two days.

“Yesterday (Wednesday) night was the coldest of the season, as the temperature dropped to 7.5°C on the night between Wednesday and Thursday,” said Anjum Zaigham, a spokesman for the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) in Karachi.

“The entire country is in the grip of a cold wave and due to the influence of Siberian winds, at least the cold wave in Karachi will continue over the next two to three days.”

Wednesday night was the coldest since January 2014, when the temperature had dropped to 6.5°C, said a PMD official, adding that they think the record could be broken during the present cold wave that had gripped Karachi like the rest of the country.

Zaigham said that chilly winds are likely to blow in the metropolitan city starting Friday night and Saturday morning, adding that under their influence, the feels-like temperature will be higher compared to the actual temperature.

He said that another westerly disturbance or a rain- or snowfall-causing system is likely to enter Pakistan and also cause heavy snowfall and rain in Balochistan and in upper Sindh, while Karachi can also experience light rain or drizzle by the start of next week.

The PMD official maintained that the current cold wave is likely to continue until the middle of next week, and the temperature is expected to range between 8°C and 10°C with fluctuations.