Karachi braces for another cold day on Wednesday

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has predicted that there would be no rain for Karachi under the influence of a westerly disturbance which has caused widespread rain and snowfall in vast areas of Balochistan, reported The News.

The metropolis has been gripped by a new cold wave due to cold and dry northwesterly winds over the last few days.

“Karachi missed rain as a westerly disturbance passed Karachi by after causing heavy rains and snowfall in Balochistan, but cold weather has returned to Karachiites,” Chief Meteorological Officer Sardar Sarfraz said while speaking to The News.

MET office official said Karachi’s weather, which had returned to normal a few days ago, would become cold again as chilly and dry winds from the northwesterly direction had started blowing again in the city.

Read also: Freezing winds grip Karachi as winter cold intensifies

Sarfraz added the cold wave was likely to continue for the next four days under the influence of Siberian winds. He added that temperature in the metropolis is likely to drop as low as eight °C on Wednesday night.

“The mercury would drop during nights in the city while the daytime temperature would also remain low under the influence of northwesterly or Siberian winds,” Sarfraz said.

The first day of the new year saw freezing winds grip the city as temperatures dropped to as low as 11°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.

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

Record-breaking winter

The current winter season is on track to break 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.

Originally published in The News