LAHORE: Heat and heavy humidity kept their grip on Lahore on Wednesday, with the Pakistan Meteorological Department forecasting a maximum temperature of 36 degrees Celsius for the city — before scattered rain arrived in several localities by early afternoon.
According to the Met Office, Lahore’s temperature was recorded at 31 degrees Celsius during the morning, with the minimum expected around 27 degrees. Humidity was recorded at 72 percent and winds were moving through the city at 10 kilometres per hour.
The department had placed the probability of rainfall in Lahore at 20 percent, with cloud cover expected to produce an intermittent play between sun and cloud through the day. By 12:40 pm, rain was reported across various parts of the city.
The citizens said the combination of heat and mugginess was disrupting normal routines, and expressed hope that rainfall would bring some improvement in conditions.
That gap between the recorded figure and the felt one is the defining feature of Lahore’s September. Monsoon withdrawal from upper Punjab leaves high residual moisture in the air even as maximums ease, and the urban heat island effect in the dense commercial core — Anarkali, Shah Alam Market, the Walled City lanes — keeps surfaces radiating long after sunset. The burden falls hardest on those who cannot go indoors: traffic wardens on Ferozepur Road and at Kalma Chowk, loaders at Badami Bagh, construction crews and motorcycle delivery riders.
Lahore’s relatively mild picture contrasted sharply with the north. Following heavy rain in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, all relevant departments were placed on high alert and the Rawalpindi administration formally imposed a rain emergency in the city.
The Met Office recorded 43 millimetres of rain each at Saidpur and the PMD station in Islamabad, 12 millimetres at New Katarian, five at Golra, four at Pirwadhai and two at Shamsabad. WASA officials said the water level in Nullah Leh was under continuous monitoring, with flow recorded at five feet at Katarian and three feet at Gawalmandi. Parking staff with heavy machinery were deployed in low-lying areas as a precaution.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, two people were killed and three injured as roofs and walls collapsed during heavy rain. According to the damage report issued by the Provincial Disaster Management Authority, the dead included a woman and a child, while the injured comprised a man, a woman and a child. PDMA reported nine houses damaged in the province — five partially and four completely destroyed — and directed relevant departments to monitor the situation and ensure relief activities in affected areas.
Punjab has already begun pre-smog season preparations, with checking of smoke-emitting vehicles and brick kilns decided upon, and a crackdown launched on smoke-emitting heavy vehicles. Lahore’s air quality typically begins deteriorating from late October.
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