The much-prayed for rain across the country brought a pleasant end to the prolonged dry spell, dent the rising mercury and raised farmers’ hopes facing drought fears, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
The light to heavy rain, intermittent at some places, hit the cities Wednesday and continued on Thursday morning with prediction that it will rain more until midday.
The farmers will be over the moon with the rain as a winter drought which has been ravaging crops in the country’s breadbasketwas gas parched the region by a 40 percent drop in rainfall.
Rain was reported in several Punjab cities which saw 42 percent less rain than normal in earlier winter months.
The situation was much more worse in the province of Sindh which witnessed 52 percent below normal rain levels while Balochistan saw a 42 percent drop, said Met Office earlier.
The latest rain spell in all the provinces and snowfall on the hills in Gilgil Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa lessen the drought fears to some extent as the much-awajted rain will bring relief to the citizens suffering from poor air quality due to the prolonged dry spell.
The consistent rain will hopefully raise the underground water level and the water level in drought-hit dams in Tarbela and Khanpur.
Heavy rain also lashed several sectors of Islamabad on Thursday morning causing traffic jams on several roads.
Mansehra and the hillstation of Murree was also hit by rain and snowfall with prediction of more in the next 24 hours.
The Met office forecast that the current rain spell will continue till February 21.
Rain was also from Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Faisalabad, Peshawar, Quetta, Kasur, Attock, Kala Bagh, Bhakkar, Darya Khan, Nankana Sahib, Muridke, Hangu, Ghotki and several cities of Balochistan, KP and Azad Kashmir.
The rain severely disrupted Lahore Electric Supply Company’s (LESCO) transmission system, leaving citizens frustrated. Dozens of feeders tripped due to the rain and technical faults, leading to power outages in multiple areas.According to Met Office intermittent rain couple with cold and and thunderstorm and snowfalls on the hills was expected in upper/central Punjab, Islamabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan on Thursday.
Heavyfalls/heavy snowfall was likely at few places in Gilgit-Baltistan, upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Kashmir, while hailstorm may also occur at isolated places in upper/central Punjab and northern Balochistan.
Gilgit Baltistan/Kashmir
Rain-wind/thunderstorm with few heavy snowfalls is expected in Gilgit-Baltistan (Diamir, Astore, Ghizer, Skardu, Hunza, Gilgit, Guanche, Shigar) Kashmir (Neelum valley, Muzaffarabad, Poonch, Hattian, Bagh, Haveli, Sudhanoti, Kotli, Bhimber, Mirpur) from 19th to 21st February with occasional gaps۔
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Rain-wind/thunderstorm with few heavy snowfalls over hills is expected in Chitral, Dir, Swat, Shangla, Kohistan, Mansehra, Abbottabad, Haripur, Bunner, Bajaur, Mohmand, Khyber, Orakzai, Kurram, Waziristan, Peshawar, Charsadda, Nowshera, Swabi, Bannu, Karak and Kohat on 19th & 20th February with occasional gaps.
Punjab/Islamabad
Rain-wind/thunderstorm with snowfalls in Murree and Galliyat from 19th to 21st February with occasional gaps. Rain-wind/thunderstorm is expected in Islamabad, Potohar region, Sargodha, Mianwali, Bhakkar, Khushab, Hafizabad, Gujranwala, Mandi Bahauddin, Gujrat, Sialkot, Narowal, Lahore, Sheikhupura, Faisalabad, Jahng and Toba Tek Singh on 19th and 20th February. While light rain-wind/thunderstorm is also expected in Multan, Dera Ghazi Khan, Layyah, Muzaffargarh, Taunsa Sharif, Khanewal, Sahiwal, Pakpattan, Okara and Bahawalnagar on 19th February.
Balochistan
Rain-wind/thunderstorm with snowfalls over hills is expected in Quetta, Ziarat, Chaman, Pishin, Qilla Abdullah, Qilla Saifullah, Chagi, Noushki, Harnai, Zhob and Musakhel on 18th and 19th February.
Sindh
Dry weather will prevail in most parts of the province during the period. However, gusty winds are expected along the coastal areas.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has warned that heavy snowfall may cause road closures and slippery conditions in hilly areas from the night of February 19 to the morning of February 21.
The PMD has indicated the possibility of landslides and avalanches in hilly areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, Kashmir, Murree, and Galliyat during this period.
The tourists have been advised to remain extra cautious and avoid unnecessary travel.
Reporters Kaleem Akhtar, Jan Sher, Rana Faran Yameen, Hashar Warraich