LAHORE: No rain is expected on Christmas day this year due to unusual weather patterns out of fast changing climate streak.

It may be noted that Christmas day gets a shower amidst foggy spells traditionally. However, the westerly winds are passing through the country at high altitude since November, delaying winter rains this year.

The unusual weather pattern has been controlling the environment throughout the year, starting from absence of spring season at the outset of year as winter had directly transformed to summer in the month of March. This trend continued further and the monsoon spells kept diverting to Arabian Sea due to rising sea surface temperatures, bringing monsoon-fed floods in the provinces of Balochistan and Sindh.

The recent unusual trend is a delay in winter season due to below normal rains this year. The cold weather was delayed until the third week of December. There was a chance of further delay in case there was no drop in day time temperature.

However, a drop in day time temperature by 2C to 3C during the current week has led to strong spells of fog during the wee hours. A drop in temperature has dried up weather throughout Punjab, reducing visibility to abnormally low.

According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), weather would keep dry trends until the end of current week which is likely to extend further in case the upcoming westerly winds pass through at higher altitude like the previous few spells.

The PMD sources said the upcoming westerly winds would pass through the country by 29th of December, therefore, no chance of rain until then. They said the weather trends suggest that below normal rains are likely to take place until the month of February.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022