As a light to heavy rain and thunderstorms swept across Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and various areas of Gilgit Baltistan, the Met Department has forecast more rain and strong winds in various areas of Punjab and KP during next 24 hours, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

Heavy rain and hailstorms battered large parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for the second consecutive day during the past 24 hours as 7 people were reported to be killed and nine others injured in various rain related incidents in KP.

In Punjab during the past 24 hours, there was moderate rain in Lahore, Sheikhpura, Kasur, Rawalpindi, Attock, Chakwal, Jhelum, Gujarat, Mandi Bahauddin, Narowal, Okara, Faisalabad, Toba Tek Singh, Khushab, Mianwali, Sargodha, Khanewal, Sahiwal, Multan, and Muzaffargarh.

Areas of Lahore which received light and moderate showers on Saturday night included Shahdara Town, Ravi Road, Karim Park, Gulberg, Model Town, Garden Town, Johar Town, Township and Kalma Chowk. Meanwhile, Multan and its surroundings received heavy rain and hail storms during and after iftar.

After the rain, weather turned pleasant in Lahore. Amid increase in chill, temperature was recoded at 17 celsius. Maximum temperature likely to go up to 28 celsius while 95 percent humidity in the air was recoded while the wind speed will remain 11km per hour in the city during the next 24 hours. Cloudy weather to persist but there is no forecast of rain during the next 24 hours in the provincial capital by the Meteorological Department. Owing to rain, pollution and smog condition dropped and in air quality index Lahore stood at 35^th position. While overall AQI index was reported at 77 in the city.

Met Office said that a westerly wave which entered western parts of the country on March 27 was likely to grip upper and central parts till Sunday.

Under the influence of this weather system rain-windstorm/thunderstorm is expected in Chitral, Dir, Swat, Abbottabad, Mansehra, Haripur, Kohistan, Shangla, Buner, Waziristan, Kohat, Lakki Marwat, Bannu, Dera Ismail Khan, Bajaur, Malakand, Mohmand, Karak, Khyber, Peshawar, Charsadda, Nowshera, Swabi, Mardan and Kurram with occasional gaps.

Rain-wind/thunderstorm is expected in Gilgit-Baltistan (Diamir, Astore, Ghizer, Skardu, Hunza, Gilgit, Ghanche, Shigar), Kashmir (Neelum valley, Muzaffarabad, Rawalakot, Poonch, Hattian, Bagh, Haveli, Sudhanoti, Kotli, Bhimber, Mirpur) with occasional gaps during next 24 hours.

During next 24 hours, rain-wind/thunderstorm is expected in Murree, Galliyat, Islamabad/Rawalpindi, Attock, Chakwal, Jhelum, Mandi Bahauddin, Gujrat, Gujranwala, Hafizabad, Sialkot, Narowal, Lahore, Kasur, Okara, Faisalabad, Toba Tek Singh, Jhang, Khushab, Sargodha and Mianwali with occasional gaps.

Rain-wind/thunderstorm is also expected in DG Khan, Rajanpur, Bhakkar, Layyah, Multan, Pakpattan, Sahiwal, Kot Addu, Muzaffargarh, Rahim Yar Khan, Sadiqabad, Khanpur, Bahawalpur and Bahawalnagar with occasional gaps.

During next 24 hours there were no chances of rain in Zhob, Sherani, Barkhan, Musakhel, Kohlu, Sibbi, Jhal Magsi, Loralai, Ziarat, Quetta, Chaman, Pishin, Qila Abdullah, Qila Saifullah, Kalat and Khuzdar.

The weather to remain hot and dry in Sukkur, Jacobabad, Kashmore, Larkana and Dadu as dry weather/dust raising winds is expected in southern parts of the province.

In this regard, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) has issued instructions to the administration to remain vigilant and proactive in dealing with the adverse weather conditions.

Intermittent thundershowers persisted throughout the night in various parts of Lahore, while the temperature is likely to be 26 degrees Celsius today due to the ongoing cold winds.

Reports indicate that light rain has been observed in different areas of Lahore, including Shahdara Town, Ravi Road, Karim Park. Additionally, areas such as Gulberg, Model Town, Garden Town, and Kalma Chowk experienced thundershowers, enhancing the pleasant weather in the city. The Mall road, Canal Road, Johar Town, and Township were also affected by the rain.

Meanwhile, in Hafizabad, the weather turned pleasant due to rain and wind. However, concerns have arisen regarding potential damage to the wheat crop, as heavy rainfall persists. The city also faced disruptions in electricity supply, posing challenges to residents during Sehr.

Similar weather patterns were observed in other cities across Punjab. In Gujrat, a thunderstorm caused power feeds to trip due to strong winds. Lalamusa, Kharian, and surrounding areas experienced rain, while in Kasur, heavy rain accompanied by thunder caused electricity cuts in many areas, despite the pleasant weather it brought.

In Shorkot, heavy rain and hail battered the city and its surroundings, raising fears of potential damage to the wheat crop. Similarly, in Shakargarh, Kartarpur, Noorkot, Dipalpur, Wazirabad, Daska, and surrounding areas, rain accompanied by thunderstorms has been reported.

The Karakoram Highway, which was blocked at multiple locations on Friday night due to landslides triggered by heavy rain, was reopened for one-way traffic by Saturday afternoon, National Highway Authority Deputy Director Ghulam Abbas told media. He said the water inundated a tunnel along the Dasu Hydropower Project in Kohistan, disrupting traffic as construction work was suspended to dewater the tunnel.

According to Met Department, the amount of rainfall across the province in the past 24 hours was: 70mm in Dir Upper, 48mm in Dir Lower, 65mm in Peshawar, 64mm in Cherat, 52mm in Malam Jabba, 47mm in Saidu Sharif, 38mm in Patan, 35mm in Mardan, 32mm in Parachinar, 23mm in Balakot, 27mm in Chitral, 26mm in Drosh and 7mm in Dera Ismail Khan and Bannu.

Reporter: Fatima Khan