Two monsoon rainy spells are expected to fall across the country from Wednesday till Monday, as the Met Office on Tuesday warned that the heavy falls are likely to unleash urban flooding in Karachi on Saturday.
The Met forecast two different rainy spells for the country that are likely to begin on Wednesday and continue till Monday. It said that the monsoon rains with wind-thunderstorm are expected in southern half of the country from Friday to Monday, while in northern half from Wednesday to Saturday.
It said: "A well marked monsoon low pressure has formed over North Bay of Bengal and its adjoining areas. Moderate monsoon currents from Bay of Bengal are likely to penetrate upper parts of the country on Wednesday, expected to intensify during Thursday and Friday." The new weather system is expected to unleash widespread rains with wind-thunderstorm in Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Lahore, Sargodha and Faisalabad Divisions, Islamabad and Kashmir.
The weather system is also expected to trigger scattered rains across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and isolated falls with wind-thunderstorm in Multan, D G Khan, Sahiwal and Bahawalpur Divisions from Wednesday evening/night to Saturday. Similarly, isolated moderate to heavy falls are also likely in Hazara, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Lahore and Faisalabad Divisions, Islamabad and Kashmir from Thursday to Friday.
The Met said that heavy falls may generate flash flooding in Hazara, Malakand, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala and D G Khan Divisions and Kashmir, while urban flooding in Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Lahore, Sargodha and Faisalabad Divisions on Thursday and Friday. Possibility of landslide in Malakand and Hazara Divisions, Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir may loom large during the period.
The second spell is likely from "a well marked monsoon low pressure has formed over North Bay of Bengal and its adjoining areas, likely to move westwards and may reach over Indian Gujrat region around morning of 9th August." It may trigger widespread rains with wind-thunderstorm in Mirpurkhas, Thatta, Hyderabad, Karachi and Shaheed Benazirabad Divisions from Friday evening/night to Monday morning.
Scattered rains with wind-thunderstorm are also expected in Zhob, Kalat, Sibbi, Nasirabad, Makran, Sukkur and Larkana Divisions during the period. Isolated moderate to heavy falls are also expected in Mirpurkhas, Thatta, Hyderabad, Karachi and Shaheed Benazirabad Divisions, Kalat, Zhob, Nasirabad and Sibbi Divisions from Friday night to Sunday.
The Met warned that the expected heavy falls may generate urban flooding in Karachi, Thatta and Hyderabad Divisions, while flash flooding in Kalat, Sibbi, Zhob and Nasirabad Divisions on Friday night to Sunday. It asked the authorities concerned to remain alert and take precautionary measures during the period.