ISLAMABAD - Bright sunshine under a clear sky on Monday morning brought much-needed respite to the residents of the federal capital, who endured bone-chilling cold following heavy rain and snowfall over the hills in most parts of the country in the last few days.
A large number of people emerged from their homes and offices during the daytime to relish the warmth of the sunshine, a rare occurrence as minimum temperatures plummeted amid heavy rain.
Torrential rains, hailstorms, and heavy snowfall disrupted daily life and traffic, compelling citizens to stay indoors for most of the time due to continuous rain with few gaps.
“The persistent rainy and cloudy weather forced most of us, especially children, to stay indoors and stay safe from the harsh chilly weather effects. However, today’s bright morning not only cleared the hazy atmosphere but also restored joy to people fed up with sitting behind closed doors in front of heaters,” said Shaista Nazir, a government employee.
“After a long time, I enjoyed sitting on the rooftop of my office and had peanuts and oranges with my colleagues under the open sky and sunshine,” she said, talking to APP.
Imran Sadiq, associated with teaching, mentioned the hardship of bearing very cold weather conditions, particularly for his elderly father in his late 80s. “Today, he could get exposure to the sun after so many days, as earlier, the sun couldn’t shine properly due to the rainy and cloudy weather.”
Many parents refrained from allowing their children to go outside, fearing they would get sick due to the chilly weather, while the children were unhappy being restricted within their homes.
Taking advantage of the sunny weather, families planned to take their children to nearby parks for an outing on Monday.
According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), continental air prevailed over most parts of the country, with a westerly wave likely to enter Balochistan from Tuesday (evening/ night).
On Tuesday, cold and dry weather is expected in most parts of the country, while it will be very cold in the upper parts. However, rain, wind, thunderstorm (snowfall over hills) is expected in northwest/ south Balochistan.
During the last 24 hours, partly cloudy and dry weather occurred in most parts of the country. However, rain-thunderstorm with snow over mountains occurred in upper Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Pothohar region.
The rainfall recorded was Khyber- Pakhtunkhwa: Drosh 22mm, Dir (upper 17, lower 12), Mirkhani 15, Kalam, Saidu Sharif 12, Chitral, Malamjabba 06, Mardan 02, Pattan 01, Punjab: Attock 06, Islamabad (A/P) 03, Bokra 01. Snowfall (Inches): Kalam, Mirkhani 06, Drosh 05, Chitral 2.4, Dir and Malamjabba 02mm.
The lowest minimum temperatures recorded were Leh, Kalam -10°C, Kalat -06°C, Quetta (Samungli), Malamjabba -05°C, Astore -04°C, Skardu, Gupis, and Mir Khani -03°C.
