Moderate to heavy rains likely in Karachi from today

Moderate to heavy showers are expected in Karachi on Sunday afternoon or evening under the influence of a strong monsoon system that has entered southeastern Sindh from the neighbouring Indian state of Rajasthan, PMD officials said on Saturday, warning that heavy falls could cause urban flooding in Karachi, Hyderabad, Thatta, Badin, Khuzdar, Ormara, Pasni and Gwadar till Tuesday evening.

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) had earlier predicted rain with thundershowers in Karachi on Saturday evening, but due to changing weather conditions, chances of rain and thunderstorm vanished. However, PMD officials said heavy rains with some very heavy falls in Sindh and Balochistan from Sunday could still cause an “urban flooding-like situation” in Karachi and other cities of lower Sindh.

“A strong monsoon system from the Bay of Bengal has entered southeastern Sindh and it may get some support from the Arabian Sea in the next 24 hours. This system is likely to cause heavy to very heavy rains in Tharparkar, Tharparker, Umerkot, Sanghar, Badin, Mirpurkhas, Thatta, Hyderabad, Tando M. Khan, Tando Allayar, Karachi, Dadu and Jamshoro districts during 3-5 July,” Sarfraz said.

Officials said around 100 to 150 millimeters of rain could inundate low-lying areas, cause urban flooding, disrupt the power supply network and cause other issues like massive traffic jams on city roads.