Met Office has predicted a fresh spell of monsoon rains over upper and some central parts of the country in the next four days. The office in its weather forecast observed that monsoon rains during July remained below normal in the country. It said the present trend of weak monsoon is expected to continue till mid of August because of the El-Nino factor.
It further said that the monsoon currents are penetrating over upper parts of the country and a westerly wave is also heading towards Pakistan that would grip northern parts of the country on Thursday evening. "Due to interaction of monsoon currents and cold westerly wave, scattered monsoon rains with isolated heavy falls are expected over Islamabad, Punjab, KPK and GB- Kashmir from Friday to Sunday," it forecast.
The rice growing areas of Punjab are expected to receive good rains on Saturday/Sunday. The insufficient water in Rawal, Simli and Khanpur dams has disrupted water supply to the twin cities. Mangla Dam is also facing water shortage due to low monsoon rains. However, the water situation in Rawal, Simli, Khanpur and Mangla Dams is likely to improve to some extent during the coming weekend.