The Met Office has asked the farmers of irrigated parts of Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to complete sowing of wheat crop during November. It said that the farmers in case of delay in sowing may attain different verities and sow them during December. With further delays, crop yield would decrease at the end. It also urged the farmers of rain-dependent areas to sow Rabi crops in November.
Growers should speed up Rabi crops keeping in view the existing soil dampness from the recent rains, it said, adding that farmers should cultivate winter vegetables on time to utilise land moisture fully. It warned that the rainfall and gusty winds after irrigation caused water logging of standing crops like maize, sugarcane and cotton, asking the farmers to be very careful in this connection.
Weather in Punjab is expected to remain mainly dry. However, Met office forecast scattered light to moderate rainfall for Lahore, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala and Faisalabad divisions on November 13, 15 and 16. Dry weather has been predicted for most parts of Sindh. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, mainly dry weather is expected but light to moderate rainfall may hit scattered places in Hazara, Malakand, Mardan, Peshawar and Kohat, divisions till November 20. Mainly hot and dry weather is likely in most parts of Balochistan with light to moderate rain in Kalat, Quetta and Zhob till November 15.
The office forecast mainly dry weather for the most parts of Gilgit-Baltistan. However, it said that two spells of light to moderate rain is expected in Gilgit and Skardu til november 20. Light to moderate rainfall is expected in most of the parts of Kashmir including Rawalakot, Muzaffarabad and Kotli divisions till November 16. Normal wind pattern may prevail with rising temperature by 1-2 degrees Celsius during night but normal during day in most of agricultural plains.