Karachi wakes up to scattered light showers, dark skies hint at heavier spell ahead

• Drizzle reported in several neighbourhoods.
• Drizzle could last for 30-60 minutes.
• Heavier rainfall likely later in the day.

KARACHI: After Sunday’s heavy downpour that had officials on alert for urban flooding, dark clouds rolled back over Karachi on Monday morning, delivering light showers across the coastal city, weather analysts said.

Drizzle was reported in several neighbourhoods, including Defence Housing Authority (DHA), Korangi Road, Shahrah-e-Faisal, Burns Road, MA Jinnah Road, Qayyumabad, Mehmoodabad, Manzoor Colony, and Baloch Colony. 

University Road, Jamshed Road, Jehangir Road, Yaseenabad, and Gulshan-e-Iqbal also saw light rain.

According to weather experts, the drizzle could last between 30 and 60 minutes. They added that if the system shifts westward, Karachi may receive heavier rainfall later in the day.

Elsewhere in Sindh, intermittent showers continued across Tharparkar, while Larkana and its adjoining areas were lashed by heavy downpours.

Heavy rain also battered Khairpur and its outskirts with thunder and lightning, while downpours over Kot Diji and the Aror hills flooded local storm drains and nullahs. Kashmore, meanwhile, saw light showers that turned the weather pleasant.

Heavy rainfall lashed several parts of Karachi on Sunday, with the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) warning that the downpours could trigger urban flooding in the city’s low-lying areas.

Light to heavy rain is being reported in Gulshan-e-Hadeed, Malir Halt, Rafa-e-Aam, Bahria Town and surrounding areas near the M9 Motorway.

According to the Met Office, rain-bearing clouds are currently present over the eastern parts of the megacity. “These clouds may spread further in the city,” it added.

“Unusual downpours” are expected in Sindh during the next 48 hours, warned the Met Office.

It added that the “depression” over India’s southwest Rajasthan and Gujarat has strengthened into a “deep depression”.

The “deep depression” is likely to enter southeastern Sindh within the next 24 hours, said the Met Office. 

Under the influence of the weather system, heavy rains were expected in Tharparkar, Umarkot and other cities of Sindh till September 10.

Karachi is also expected to receive intermittent heavy rain with thunderstorms and gusty winds during the period, it added.

Sindh government spokesperson Saadia Javed on Monday said that the recent spell of rainfall in Karachi last month had turned into a disaster, with the city receiving 200 millimetres of rain within a few hours.

She said the entire province is currently on high alert due to the risk of urban flooding, adding that the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation staff has also been placed on high alert.

She urged citizens to avoid leaving their homes unnecessarily.

Saadia Javed said the Sindh government would decide on school closures after reviewing advisories from the National Disaster Management Authority and the Met Office.