Karachi:
A low pressure system on the Gulf of Khambhat and Gujarat adjacent to India brought precipitation on Tuesday in different parts of Karachi, briefly breaking the fate of intense heat which prevails in the city.
Shershah, Baldia, Mauripur, Hawksbay, Shaheed-E-Millat Road, Gulshan-E-Iqbal, Pechs, University Road, Pidc, Bizty Lines, Kala Pul and other areas have received light to moderate showers accompanied by guinders winds. The drawback has caused a water commitment to the low areas, disturbing the flow of traffic.
According to Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), the system is currently located near Sarashtra, Gujarat, about 340 kilometers southeast of Karachi, and should move to the west and southwest, reaching the Northeast Arabia Sea near the Gulf of Kutch this evening or tomorrow morning. Favorable conditions can make it intensify in depression.
Under its influence, thunderstorms with light to moderate precipitation are expected in Tharparkar, Umerkot, Sanghar, Mirpurkhas, Badin, Shaheed Benazirabad, Naushahro Feroze, Hyderabad, Jamshoro, Thitta, Sujawal, Tando Muhammad Khan, Tando Allahyar and parts of Karachi.
The sea conditions should remain rough, with wind speeds of 45 to 55 kilometers per hour. Sindh fishermen was advised to avoid venturing into deep waters until October 2.
Read: PMD provides light to moderate rain, thunderstorms in Karachi
The PMD cyclone warning center in Karachi is closely monitored the situation.
Last month, the mayor of Karachi, Murtaza Wahab, said that the recent downpour in the city was part of the wider challenge for climate change, which also caused destruction in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Cashmire in recent days.
Addressing a press conference, he said that global warming and climate change were a reality and an administrative test worldwide, citing situations in New York, Dubai and Mumbai.
The mayor said the heavy rains had left residents encountered in difficulty, criticism and political points exacerbating the situation more. He noted that Karachi’s rainwater drains had only 40 mm capacity. “When precipitation exceeds this amount, the consequences become obvious,” he said.
Find out more: Strong precipitation on cards for Karachi
While climate change undoubtedly intensifies extreme weather events, the misery faced with the citizens of Karachi comes less from the anger of nature and more from the decomposition of the city and the mediocre infrastructures. In a metropolis of more than 20 million, the sewers remain blocked with waste, the roads collapse after a few hours of rain and the cellars turn into death traps.
At least a dozen people have lost their lives in the latest monsoon rains, most of the collapse of the electrocution and the house.
Unlike northern Pakistan, where recent rains have triggered sudden floods and landslides, Karachi’s deaths were largely the result of urban management failures, including exposed threads, open drains, low housing structures and inadequate drainage systems, stressing the vulnerability of the city with preventable tragedies.
