Record-breaking heavy showers deluge Lahore

Heavy showers on Friday deluged the entire Lahore, with the Tajpura area receiving the highest rainfall up to 315 millimetres, which has broken the 30-year-old record of the city.

Confirming the record-breaking rain spell, Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) Managing Director Muhammad Ghufran said 291 mm of rain was recorded in 2023 at the city’s Lakshmi Chowk, which received 170 mm this time.

The WASA staff was actively working and monitoring the rain situation, said Ghufran.

"The water has been removed from Lakshmi Chowk and other areas are also being cleared. Soon the city will be cleared of rainwater," said the WASA MD.

The neighbourhoods of Pani Wala Talab received 151 mm rain, Qurtuba Chowk 152 mm, Gulshan-e-Ravi 151 mm, Mughalpura 145 mm, Airport 86 mm, Upper Mall 130 mm, Samanabad 153 mm, Iqbal Town 152 mm, Gulberg Town 105 mm, Chowk Nakhuda 155 mm, Nishter Town 162 mm, Jail Road 69 mm and Farrukhabad 140 mm.

It is pertinent here to mention that the Met Office has forecast more rains in the metropolis during the next 24 hours, which could further increase the level of rainwater.

Islamabad, Rawalpindi, and several other areas of the province also received heavy rainfall, causing problems for the residents.

Apart from Lahore, Islamabad, and Rawalpindi, Nikyal and Barnala areas of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Gujranwala, Jehlam, Mandibahauddin, Hafizabad, Sargodha, Pakpattan and their adjacent areas too experienced heavy showers. A host of areas suffered from power outages as well.

People encountered immense trouble as rainwater accumulated in a large number of areas — including Rawalpindi's Dhok Kashmirian, Sadiqabad and Dhok Kala Khan as well as Lahore's Devis Road, Nisbat Road, Gawalmandi, Krishan Nagar, Rajgarh, Mazang, Achara, Faisal Town, Garden Town, Gulberg, Mughalpura, Wasanpura, Badami Bagh and Shahdara.

The WASA managing director said staff was deployed for water drainage in low-lying areas and arrangements were complete viewing flooding in the Lai Nullah.

Viewing the emergency situation, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has directed the local administration and Wasa authorities to take immediate measures to drain the stormwater in all the cities, including Lahore.

The Punjab CM directed the staff and officers to visit the vulnerable areas and remain in the field till the rainwater was completely drained.

She directed Rescue 1122 and other departments as well to brace up for an emergency situation in advance.

“Work on drainage of main arteries and low-lying areas should continue uninterruptedly. Emergency measures are required to deal with the situation created in various cities because of continuous rain,” she said.

Maryam said rainwater should not be seen in streets and markets, while the traffic police should clear roads for easy flow of vehicular traffic.

Met Office forecasts light showers for Karachi today

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) on Friday said light rain or drizzle is likely to happen in the evening or night today, while the sky would remain partially cloudy throughout the day in Karachi.

The Met Office also forecast strong winds, which are expected to turn weather pleasant after heatwave baked the port city for quite a long time. Few sporadic downpours have already made a difference in hot weather condition though.

The meteorological department recorded the minimum temperature in the city at 30°C and humidity in the air at 76 %. Whereas, the mercury might rise maximum up to 33-35°C during the day.

The PMD said sea breezes were blowing at the speed of 27 to 32 kilometres an hour.

Meanwhile, as the Met Office predicted on Wednesday, heavy rains are predicted for Karachi after July 20. Which would, if happened, fulfill the Karachiites’ desire as they are still longing to break free from hot weather.