LAHORE:The city continued to suffer from severe heat and humidity, which tortured the citizens but in evening moderate rain was recorded in several city areas here on Tuesday.
During the day, the maximum temperature reached 36 degrees Celsius and the minimum temperature was 29 degrees Celsius while the humidity was 65 percent and winds blown at a speed of 6 kmph.
However, after a hot and humid day, the weather turned rainy and moderate showers were recorded in several city areas, which disrupted traffic as well as the citizen’s activities.As per the record of rainfall so far released by Wasa Lahore, the highest rainfall of 40.2 mm was recorded at Saggian, at PaniwalaTalab it was 38.4 mm, at ChowkNakhuda 36.8 mm and at LaxmiChowk it was 35 mm. Wasa officials said rain was also recorded at Farrukhabad 9.2, Mughalpura 4.6, Samanabad 4.6, Gulshan Ravi 4.2, Upper Mall 3, Tajpura 2.2, Jail Road 1 and Shadipura 0.4. The Punjab Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) has predicted the possibility of rains in most of the districts of Punjab during the next 2 days.
According to PDMA spokesperson, rain is expected in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Murree, Galiyaat, Attock, Chakwal, Jhelum, MandiBahauddin, Gujarat, Gujranwala, Hafizabad, Wazirabad, Faisalabad, Khushab and Sargodha.
Apart from this, rain may also occur in Chiniot, Okara, Kasur, NurpurThal, Bhakkar, Mianwali, Leh, Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar, Dera Ghazi Khan, Multan, Khanewal, Lodhran, Muzaffargarh, KotAddu, Rahimyar Khan and Rajanpur.
According to PDMA DG Umar Javed, in view of the instructions of CM Punjab, an alert has been issued to the commissioners and deputy commissioners across the province, due to the rains, the flow of rivers and streams will increase. He instructed to stay in safe places to avoid lightning, never go under open places during lightning, stay in safe places in view of dust and strong winds, tourists should take precautionary measures while traveling to northern areas.
Met officials said a seasonal low lied over north Balochistan and adjoining areas. A ridge of high pressure is present in the upper atmosphere while moist currents from Arabian Sea were also penetrating southeastern parts of the country.
Following the rain, Wasa Lahore MDGhafran Ahmed started monitoring the drainage operation. He directed all the field staff to ensure their presence in their respective areas and clear the roads as soon as possible.
Deputy Commissioner Lahore Capt (retd) M Ali Ijaz also activated Rain Emergency Protocol in the city and ordered district administration and Wasa to remain on high alert in the field. He said all the Assistant Commissioners should be personally monitoring the drainage process in their respective areas while Wasa staff was mobilized in the field to drain water from low-lying areas.
Rescue 1122 and relief teams were also deployed at various strategic locations of the city to protect the citizens. He advised the citizens to stay away from electric poles and broken wires during rain and avoid unnecessary travel. He warned that any kind of negligence or carelessness in the process of drainage will not be tolerated.
The average AQI was 162, which came in the category of unhealthy while the PM2.5 concentration was 14.2 times the World Health Organisation annual PM2.5 guideline value.
