After several days of intense heat and extreme humidity, eastern parts of Punjab, Kashmir and southern Sindh received the first rain of this monsoon season last night and early Friday morning, bringing much-needed relief to the people.The north-eastern city of Punjab, Narowal, and its surrounding areas were lashed by heavy rain which brought smiles on the faces of heat-stricken people.  At the same time, however, low-lying areas of the city were inundated with water and several feeders were tripped due to which the power supply.  Parts of the Punjab capital Lahore and its suburbs also received rain that brought down the mercury level and the people heaved a sigh of relief. Dark clouds hovering over the central Punjab city of Samundri and its outskirts coupled with cool breeze led to a marked decrease in the temperature and the Met Office predicted that the maximum temperature would fluctuate between 29-37 degrees Celsius. The moisture level in the air stood at 50 per cent early in the morning. However, the weather department forecast that there were 10 per cent chances of rain in the city during the next 24 hours. The case was no different in Faisalabad, the second largest city of Punjab, and not far away from Summundri, where too dark clouds and cool breeze led to drop in the temperature which was recorded at 29 degrees Celsius in the morning and was expected to go up to 35 degrees Celsius later in the afternoon.  The humidity level in the air stood at 79 per cent while the breeze was blowing at the speed of 19 kilometers per hour. The Met Office, however, predicted drizzle for the city.   Light and heavy rain was reported from different cities of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) such as Rawalakot, Muzzafarabad and others during the last 24 hours. While Rawalakot and the areas lying in its vicinity received light rain, AJK capital Muzzafarabad was visited by heavy rain which turned the low-lying areas of the city into pools of water besides flooding streams. The situation prompted the authorities to issue an advisory for the tourists to exercise caution and restrict their movements. The weather was overcast in Islamabad. The Met Office predicted that there were chances of thundershowers in the federal capital accompanied by strong winds during the next 24 hours.The department forecast partly cloudy weather for different parts of Punjab and rain coupled with strong winds for the upper, central and westerns areas of the province. Similarly, the department said that rain was expected in different parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), southern and eastern Sindh, coastal belt of Balochistan and other areas of the province, Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and AJK during the next 24 hours.  The first spell of monsoon rains is expected to continue up till July 5.Punjab CM Hamza orders preparedness in view of rains:   On the instructions of Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz, Member of the Punjab Assembly (MPA) Shehbaz Chaudhry on Friday ordered the WASA, Lahore to remain alert in view of expected heavy rains in the city. He directed the WASA to keep its machinery and staff ready in order to drain out the rainwater on time.

Credit :
Independent News Pakistan-INP