Karachi receives showers as weather experts keep eye on cyclone

KARACHI (Dunya News) – The port city was splashed with light showers on Tuesday as clouds gathered over the sky, with rain reported in Liaquatabad, Federal B Area, II Chundrigar Road, Saddar and parts of the Old City.

According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), the city is in for cloudy weather over the next 24 hours, with chances of scattered showers and thunderstorms.

Temperatures are expected to hover between 35 C and 37 C, while humidity stands at around 65%, with a gentle breeze drifting in from the southeast.

Weather officials have rung alarm bells over a well-marked low-pressure system lying over India’s Gujarat state, which could turn into a tropical cyclone after slipping into the northeast Arabian Sea around October 1.

The system, they said, may stir up strong winds, heavy rainfall, and the risk of damage across parts of Sindh if it picks up strength.

The PMD’s Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre in Karachi said the system is likely to drift west-northwest, strengthening into a depression near India’s Saurashtra region.

At present, there is no direct threat to Pakistan’s coastal belt, but the situation is being kept under a close watch.

Meanwhile, the National Weather Forecasting Centre in Islamabad said moist currents from the Arabian Sea are already making their way into southeastern Sindh, triggering widespread rain, thunderstorms, and gusty winds in Karachi, Hyderabad, Thatta, Badin, Sujawal, Tharparkar, Umerkot, Mirpurkhas, Sanghar, Khairpur, Matiari, Tando Allahyar, Tando Muhammad Khan, and Jamshoro from September 29 night until October 2.

Moderate to heavy downpours are expected in Tharparkar, Umerkot, and Mirpurkhas during this spell.

Karachi has already had its fair share of wet weather this month, with heavy rains between September 8 and 10 leaving large parts of the city under water, rivers spilling over, and hundreds of people stranded. The city also saw light rain and drizzle again on September 16.