10% more monsoon rains than normal forecast

Islamabad: The Pakistan Meteorological Department has forecast 10 per cent more rainfall in the country than the normal during the July-September monsoon period.

According to weathermen, the global and regional circulation models show that Sindh and Azad Jammu and Kashmir are likely to receive moderately above normal (20 per cent) rain during the season.

The global sea surface temperature forecast reveals that the EI Nino Southern Oscillations and Indian Occasion Dipole, which affect the South Asian summer monsoon rainfall, are likely to remain neutral during the monsoon season. The area weighted normal rainfall for Pakistan during the July-September period is 140.8 millimetres. However, this is preliminary monsoon forecast based on the atmospheric conditions that prevailed in May. The PMD will issue the final monsoon forecast in the last week of the current month.