Karachi expected to receive heavy rains, but how much?

KARACHI: Heavy rains are anticipated in the metropolis port city of Karachi from August 27 till 31st, Chief Meteorologist Sardar Sarfaraz informed Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah during a meeting on rain emergency measures.

In the meeting chaired by the chief minister, Sarfaraz said that the port city is expected to experience a rainfall between 150mm to 200mm under the new spell, as per an official statement issued by the Sindh CM House.

The Met chief also mentioned that wind thunderstorms are also expected with scattered heavy to isolated and very heavy falls during this time. Notably, urban flooding as a result of torrential downpours is also anticipated along with rain inundation in Karachi and other metropolitan cities of Sindh.

Moreover, Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has reported that a well-marked low-pressure area over central India has intensified into a depression over Madhya Pradesh and is expected to move west-southwestward, possibly reaching eastern Sindh on the night of August 26th.

As a consequence, this weather system is likely to bring strong monsoon currents into Sindh.

The meeting was attended by provincial ministers, Sharjeel Memon, Saeed Ghani, Jam Khan Shoro, Makhdoom Mahboob, Adviser Najmi Alam, Mayor Karachi Murtaza Wahab, Mayor Sukkur Arslan Shaikh, Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah, SMBR Baqaullah Unar, and Commissioner Karachi Hassan Naqvi.

The CM was also informed by the Met chief that districts including Tharparkar, Badin, Thatta, Sujawal, Hyderabad, Tando Muhammad Khan, Tando Allahyar, Matiari, Umerkot, Mirpurkhas, Sanghar, Jamshoro, Dadu, Kambar Shahdadkot, Jacobabad, Shikarpur, and Larkana may also experience rain, wind-thunderstorms with scattered heavy to very heavy and isolated hefty falls from August 26 (tonight) until August 31st, with occasional gaps.

Thatta, Sujawal, Mirpurkhas, Sanghar, Shaheed Benazirabad are likely to experience rainfall between 250mm to 300mm, whereas, Badin, Tando Mohammad Khan, Tharparkar, Umerkot will probably see a rainfall of 500mm as the rest of the districts are likely to experience rain showers between 70mm to 100mm.

Additionally, in light of these notable rain forecasts, CM Murad alerted all local bodies, district administration, and the irrigation department to be prepared for timely action in case of any emergency.

He also instructed the Fisheries Department to provide the fishermen with the necessary advice so that they can take the required precautions during this forecasted period.