LAHORE: Hopes for an early winter season are diminishing fast due to the non-availability of ongoing westerly waves at low latitude in Pakistan, according to sources in the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD).
The sources said that the advent of a severe cold spell has been delayed for about two weeks due to the said phenomenon. The winter season is likely to be reduced to 45 to 50 days like the corresponding period last year, and will last from the third week of December to the end of January. It can stretch only by a week in early February subject to the favourable conditions, they said.
It may be noted that the winter season could not only last briefly during the corresponding period but it had also descended directly to summer season without transforming to spring season. Such a significant change in weather had further led to severe monsoon rains in and around the Arabian Sea region, causing unprecedented floods in Sindh and Balochistan deserting over 3 million people homeless.
When contacted, Director PMD Shahid Abbas pointed out that the day time temperature was yet around 25 Celsius despite a considerable drop to 8 Celsius in wee hours. He said the westerly winds were passing through without touching Pakistan even at the level of Skardu and Gilgit Baltistan at present.
Therefore, there is no immediate chance of rain for the next two weeks. Meanwhile, he added, thick fog has started gripping the environment in wee hours, which is fizzled out soon after exposing to the high day time temperature.
According to him, those with respiratory issues should avoid early morning and late evening hours. They should wear face masks to protect them from diseases, he advised.
He said a mismatch in early morning and day time temperature was shattering the moisture in the environment, which has delayed the start of winter season. However, he said, the germination of dengue mosquitoes has been suspended and the number of dengue patients reported a drop of 60 percent.
He said there would be no change in weather for the next weeks and the absence of any immediate chance of rains is proved beneficial to the owners of open air marquees in the city. They have started booking functions to benefit from a delay in rains after having a confirmation from the Met office, he added.
Shahid feared a drop in wheat crop in case no rain takes place by the middle of December, saying that the canal water would not be sufficient to cater for the needs of soil.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022