Director General of Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) Arif Mehmood on Wednesday advised farmers of rain-fed areas of Punjab, particularly Potohar region and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) to complete wheat sowing before November 30. Talking to APP, he said that the crop cultivated after that may cause considerable reduction in yield due to delay.
He said the wheat cultivation is in progress in different parts of the country, however, farmers of irrigated plains of Punjab, Sindh and KP are advised to complete sowing upto December 15 to get maximum yield. In case of late sowing, the recommended verities should be cultivated to minimise the loss in yield, he added. The water has not been flushed out from the low-lying areas in Sindh and it is feared that water may remain stagnated in there till January next year and affect the yield of main Rabi crop 'wheat'. Alternatively, the farmers in these areas can cultivate sunflower in January, he said.
Meanwhile, the isolated rain continued in different parts of the country dropping temperature and increasing chill in the air. According to reports, rain in different cities add charm to the Eid festivities, compelling people to plan some outdoor activities and enjoy the weather.
The westerly weather system prevailing over upper parts of the country is likely to persist for next 24 hours and cause light rain in Gilgit-Baltistan, Kashmir and adjoining hilly areas. The weather is likely to remain cloudy in twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. However, the weather is likely to remain dry in other parts of the country during next 5-6 days and no significant weather change is expected during the period, DG Met said.
Chief amount of rainfall recorded during last 24 hours was Parachinar 35 mm, Malamjabba 18 mm, Kalam 11 mm, Mianwali, Kalat, Pattan 10 mm, Dir, Murree 9 mm, Kakul 8 mm, Skardu 7 mm, Islamabad and Rawalpindi 6mm. Lowest minimum temperature was recorded at Kalat -1C and minimum temperatures in other cities were Islamabad 13 C, Lahore 17 C, Quetta 11 C, Karachi 23 C, Peshawar 14 C, Muzaffarabad 9 C, Gilgit 6 C, Multan 17 C, Murree 5 C and Faisalabad 14 C.