ISLAMABAD:
The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has issued a detailed weather advisory saying that widespread rain, windy conditions and occasional thunderstorms are expected to move over large parts of the country from the evening of March 17 until March 20, overlapping with the Eid holiday period. Although the weather will be particularly active, authorities are monitoring closely and have shared timely advice to help everyone stay safe and prepared.
The weather change is caused by a westerly wave, a natural seasonal weather system expected to enter the west of the country during the evening or night of March 17.
It is expected to gradually spread to most of Pakistan by March 18 and ease by March 20, bringing with it a few refreshing but unsettled days.
Balochistan will be among the first regions to feel the change, with rainy and windy conditions as well as occasional thunderstorms and, in a few isolated pockets, hail, expected in Quetta, Ziarat, Chaman, Pishin, Qilla Abdullah, Qilla Saifullah, Zhob, Kalat, Khuzdar, Kech, Gwadar, Panjgur, Awaran and surrounding areas. These periods are expected from the evening of March 17 to the morning of March 20, with breaks in between.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa will experience rainy and windy weather with thundery intervals and snowfall over higher hills over a wide area including Chitral, Dir, Swat, Kalam, Peshawar, Abbottabad, Mansehra, Kohat, Bannu, Dera Ismail Khan, Waziristan and many neighboring districts. Isolated hail is possible in a few locations during this time.
Across Punjab and Islamabad, the capital region as well as Rawalpindi, Lahore, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Sargodha, Sahiwal and a number of other cities and towns can expect rainy and windy spells with isolated hail from the night of March 17 to the morning of March 20.
South Punjab, including Multan, Bahawalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan and Rahim Yar Khan, are expected to experience similar conditions on March 18-19.
Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir will also experience rainy and cloudy weather with spells of thunderstorms and snowfall at higher altitudes.
Areas including Hunza, Gilgit, Skardu, Diamir, Muzaffarabad, Neelum Valley, Poonch, Mirpur and Kotli are included in the forecast from the evening of March 17, with some more violent episodes possible, particularly in Kashmir.
Sindh will witness its fair share of rainy and cloudy weather with occasional thunderstorms on March 18 and 19, covering Karachi, Hyderabad, Larkana, Sukkur, Jacobabad, Mirpurkhas, Badin, Thatta and several other districts.
