- Certain areas of Karachi may receive moderate to heavy rainfall, says Met Dept.
- Deep depression gradually moving away from Sindh’s coastal belt.
- Balochistan’s coastal belt expected to receive heavy rain.
The prospect of Karachi receiving very heavy rain has decreased as the tropical cyclone in the Arabian Sea has moved away from Sindh’s coastal belt, said the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) Friday.
“There may be moderate to heavy rain in some parts of the city,” PMD Director Sardar Sarfaraz told Geo News. “The deep depression is gradually moving away from Sindh.”
Sarfaraz said, however, Balochistan’s coastal belt is still expected to receive torrential rain, adding that the deep depression formed in the Arabian Sea is moving towards the southwest direction.
“By tomorrow, chances of rain in Sindh will diminish,” he said, adding that prospects of urban flooding in the port city have also decreased.
PMD issues Alert IV
The PMD issued another advisory today – Alert IV – that a cyclonic storm will develop along the Sindh-Makran coast, causing torrential rains and squally winds in the region.
The Met Office, in its latest advisory issued at 6am Friday, said, “Depression over the northeast Arabian Sea moved west-northwestward at a speed of 15km/hr during last 12 hours, concentrated into a Deep Depression and now lies centred near latitude 23.5N and longitude 66.5E, at a distance of about 160 km south-southwest of Karachi, 140km from Thatta and 270km from Ormara.”
The PMD’s alert said the estimated maximum sustained surface wind is 30 – 40Kts and that the sea condition is rough to very rough around the system centre.
The Met Office cautioned that the system is likely to strengthen further into a cyclonic storm during the next six hours and move west-northwestwards towards Makran coast.