LAHORE: Against the forecast of Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), the recent spell of westerly winds got weakened that led to high moisture content in the air and eventually a thick layer of fog all over Punjab.
The weak spell of westerly winds resulted in a rain of about one millimetre in Punjab besides about one-and-a-half-inch snowfall in Murree and other hilly areas. The situation could have worsened in the presence of strong westerly winds.
Sources said the current level of city temperature would drop further with entry of chilly weather from Balochistan that would convert fog into frost from January 5 to 20, a period that would witness extreme winter spell.
It would lead to increase in the angle of sunlight towards the land besides escalation of day duration by half an hour to bring down the severe impact of winter season. The day time temperature would rise to 16 degree Celsius by the middle of January, they added.
Meanwhile, said the sources, two spells of westerly winds are likely to enter the country, which would bring clouds along to rain near the end of January and during the first half of February.
At present, the temperature in Murree has been recorded at zero degrees Celsius, followed by one degree Celsius in Islamabad.
Director PMD Shahid Abbas, when contacted, said the first week of January has been recorded as normal if compared with the average temperature over the last 30 years. However, he added in the same the breath that the temperature is likely to stay slightly above normal after the first half of the ongoing month. According to him, the dryness of soil was supportive to the chill factor in the weather due to below normal rains during the month of December.
He said the weather would remain moderate until the end of March until the middle of April and there would be no sudden extreme summer spell like the corresponding period.
Meanwhile, he said the much-expected couple of rainy spells would prove beneficial to the crops. However, it could prove fatal if is delayed during the month of February and it would impact the growth of crops further.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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