With chances of more rains in the next 24 hours, the city on Thursday received first spells of monsoon thundershowers, which reduced temperature to 26 degree centigrade, but also affected trade and business activities in markets. Traders said the overnight showers continued the next day, which though did not create business problems, largely restricted the buyers for reduced public transport on the roads and fears of heavy downpour.
"The media's weather reports particularly on Karachi have also cautioned the buyers and panicked them about the possible heavy downpour," said chairman of All Karachi Tajir Ittehad, Muhammad Atiq Mir, adding the electricity load shedding had been usual during the drizzle spells in markets. The Met Office has forecast scattered rain and thundershower with isolated heavy falls in Sindh, Punjab, north-east of Balochistan (Quetta, Zhob, Kalat and Sibbi divisions), upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Kashmir during the next 24 hours.
The office says the seasonal low lies over the north-west Balochistan and monsoon currents are affecting most parts of the country, adding scattered rain and thundershower is expected in Sindh, Punjab, north-east of Balochistan, upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Kashmir during the next 48 hours.
Rain and thundershower with isolated heavy falls occurred in Sindh and scattered rain with thundershower also hit Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Hazara, Malakand divisions and Kashmir during the last 24 hours, it adds. The rain recorded in Badin as 212 mm, Chhor 106 mm, Hyderabad 97 mm, Mithi 69 mm, Sialkot 65 mm, Thatta 60 mm, Mirpurkhas 52 mm, Balakot 37 mm, Dir 28 mm, Murree 27 mm, Islamabad (Saidpur) 36 mm, Dir 28 mm, Islamabad (Zeropoint) 27 mm, Mangla 22 mm, M.B.Din 17mm, Kotli 16 mm, Rawalakot and Karachi (Landhi) 14 mm, Islamabad (Bokra) 13 mm, Rawalpindi (Shamsabad) 12 mm, Karachi (Airport) 10 mm, Karachi (Nazimabad) and Karachi (Faisal Airbase) 8 mm, Nawabshah and Jehlum 05 mm during the last 24 hours. The Met Office has forecast partly cloudy weather with chances of rain and thundershower during the next 24 hours in Karachi with temperature ranging between 29 degree centigrade and 31 degree centigrade.