Freezing winds grip Karachi as winter cold intensifies

KARACHI: Temperatures in the metropolis dropped to as low as 11°C on Wednesday as a cold spell gripped the city.

According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), the temperature is expected to remain around 14°C over the day, accompanied by chilly winds.

Sindh Chief Meteorological Officer Sardar Sarfaraz said the winds blowing in the city have been recorded at 32 to 35 kilometer per hour from the north-east. He added that the entire country at the moment was in the grip of icy Siberian winds, dropping temperatures around the country.

Sarfaraz added that the cold winds are expected to prevail around the city for another two days, with temperatures expected to drop even lower. The lowest temperatures expected to be recorded in the next two days can range from between 19°C to 20°C and can go as low as seven to eight degrees Centigrade.

Read also: Karachi shivers from coldest day of winter season 2019 as mercury drops to 9°C

According to MET Office records, the lowest temperature recorded in the city was in January 1934, when the temperature dropped to zero degrees Centigrade.

Earlier, the PMD had reported that the metropolis' cold spell was expected to intensify in January 2020. The warning had come after Karachi recorded its lowest temperature — at 9.2°C — in the current winter season on December 24.

Prior to the current record, the city had recorded its lowest temperature this year at 9.5°C.

Western winds were expected to enter Balochistan from Iran from January 3, likely bringing rain to both Balochistan and Sindh, PMD said.

Record-breaking winter

The current winter season is on track to breaking records, as mercury in Peshawar dropped to a freezing -1°C after 36 years. Karachi, on the other hand, recorded its lowest (9.2°C), while Skardu reached a freezing -21°C in recent days.

No extension in Sindh winter vacations

The Government of Sindh's education department on Tuesday denied media reports regarding an extension in winter vacations in the province.

Ahsan Ali Mangi, the secretary of School Education and Literacy Department, said that there was no change in the previously announced schedule, and had reiterated that schools across the province would re-open from January 1, 2020 (today) as per the original plan.

Read also: No extension in Sindh winter vacations: official

While the schedule remains unchanged in Sindh, the Department for Schools Education has extended winter vacations in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa owing to severe weather.

Schools across both the provinces, originally scheduled to re-open on Jan 1, will now resume activities on Jan 7.