LAHORE: The conditions are favourable for the upcoming Rabi crops like wheat etc throughout the country except the particular areas of Sindh still having stagnant water, said the seasonal agro-climate outlook for October-December 2022 of the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD).
It said the soils have enough moisture to proceed for in time sowing and healthy growth at the initial stages of the Rabi crop. However, it added, precautionary measures for timely sowing are recommended to preserve the moisture contents in the fields including deep ploughing and application of ‘Suhaagad’. Also, suitable steps may be taken to avoid weeds that may appear due to the availability of moisture in the atmosphere.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department issues monthly and seasonal forecast at the end of each month using global climate models. As a result, a single model and single data set are not considered reliable for prediction and forecast for a longer period, therefore models developed by different institutes and different data sets are being used for accuracy along with different boundary conditions for each model output. At present, 13 recommended models are adopted to obtain multi-model ensembles for seasonal predictions.
According to the outlook, a tendency of normal to below normal precipitation is likely over the country during the season except in southeastern Sindh where rainfall is expected to remain normal to slightly above normal.
The outlook has further pointed out that Southern Punjab, upper Sindh, and central Balochistan are expected to receive very few rainfalls during the next three months. Meanwhile, the mean temperature may decrease gradually following the seasonal pattern. However, nearly normal to above normal mean temperatures are likely over the country during December 2022, especially over upper KP, GB, and Kashmir.
A significant change in weather has been observed as the continuity of strong westerly winds in the country, reducing temperatures both on the maximum and minimum sides that have led to rains and a drop in germination of dengue mosquitoes.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022