Rejecting social media claims of an impending heatwave in Pakistan, the Met department has warned that daytime temperatures in the metropolis might reach 32-34 degrees Celsius between February 17 and 18.
On Thursday, the city’s minimum and highest temperatures were 15 degrees Celsius and 32.5 degrees Celsius, respectively.
“What is now being experienced in the southern regions of Sindh is an extension of the warm weather conditions that are currently prevailing in India’s Rajasthan,” noted chief meteorologist Dr. S. Sarfaraz, adding that brief periods of warm weather could not be classified as a heatwave.
According to him, there is no universal definition of a heatwave because the occurrence varies by place.
“What we can say generally is that a heatwave occurs when the temperature remains above five degrees Celsius than the average [maximum] temperature of the month for at least five consecutive days. Having said this, there is no doubt that the weather is getting warmer every year worldwide.”
According to the department’s advisory, warm weather with misty mornings is likely to prevail over southern Sindh with maximum temperature ranging between 36-38 degrees Celsius in Tharparkar, Badin and Umerkot districts during the next three days.
Cool nights and misty mornings are forecast in the province elsewhere.
