Another spell of moderate to heavy rains likely to hit Karachi today
KARACHI: Weather analyst Jawad Memon has cautioned that Karachi is likely to face another spell of rain on Thursday (today), as the prevailing monsoon low-pressure system over Keti Bandar, Sindh, and the north Arabian Sea continues to drive storm activity.
Memon said thunderclouds are expected to begin forming between 12:30pm and 1:00pm, with fresh showers forecast for the late afternoon, evening, and night. “In some areas it will be moderate rain, and in some areas it will be heavy, torrential rainfall — the same situation as we saw yesterday will be seen again,” he said.
He added that while the system’s intensity is expected to gradually decrease from Friday, light to moderate rain could continue. “We are fine for only a few days after that,” Memon cautioned, warning that another, potentially stronger monsoon system appears to be heading towards Sindh at the end of the month, around August 29–30.
Similarly, the Met Office has forecast moderate intensity rain with thunder at most places in Karachi within the next 24 hours, with a possibility of torrential downpours in some localities.
It said the minimum temperature recorded today was 29°C, with humidity at 81%. Winds are currently blowing from the southeast at 3 kilometres per hour.
Rainfall Statistics
The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) reported that Orangi Town recorded the city’s highest rainfall in the past 24 hours with 113 millimetres. Faisal Base received 43mm, followed by Korangi with 36mm and Keamari with 31mm.
Jinnah Terminal recorded 28mm, University Road and Masroor Base 24mm each, while DHA Phase 2 and the Airport Old Area recorded 21mm apiece.
Gulshan-e-Hadeed saw 20mm of rain, Nazimabad 19mm, and Surjani Town and Saadi Town 16mm each. North Karachi reported 9mm, while Gulshan-e-Maymar received 7mm.
CM defends response, blames road congestion on public
The death toll from rain-related incidents in Karachi rose to 17 on Wednesday after intermittent downpours battered the city since the day before.
In the urban flooding several people and vehicles were stranded and potholes remain scattered along major thoroughfares.
Speaking on Geo News programme “Geo Pakistan” today, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah apologised to citizens who suffered during Tuesday’s heavy rainfall. “In such heavy rain there will be urban flooding. Karachi flooded, I am saying to everyone we are apologetic, but you cannot press a button and drain all the water immediately,” he said.
CM Murad explained that when the rain intensified, he directed the Commissioner to issue guidance that people remain indoors, but the message did not fully reach the public. “Everybody went out on the street,” he said.
“Yesterday also there was rain, I went out, Sharea Faisal was completely blocked. My request to people is that they should listen to the government,” he added.
He stressed that disaster management required patience and coordination, adding that draining water in five to six hours showed that work had been done effectively. “It is disaster management. You cannot avoid a disaster; you manage a disaster,” he said. “If work had not been done, then how was the water drained in 5–6 hours? Work was done.”
“It takes time. We have to realise you have to manage a disaster; you cannot fight nature. Our mistake was that we should not have let people go out on the road, we should have closed that road,” the CM noted.