Depression in Arabian Sea to bring rainfall in Sindh and Balochistan: PMD

KARACHI: The Met Office has said that the Depression in the Arabian Sea has been at a distance of 270 kilometres from Karachi and slowly moved northwestward.

The Depression (Intense Low-Pressure Area) over Northeast Arabian Sea and adjoining Gulf of Kutch has moved with a speed of 5 km per hour during last 18 hours and now lies centred around Latitude 22.8°N & Longitude 68.5°E, at a distance of about 270km southeast of Karachi and 220km from Thatta.

Maximum sustained surface wind is 50-55 km/hour around the system centre. The system is likely to keep moving northwestward for some time and then recurve to westwards (towards Oman coast), weather department said in a statement.

Under the influence of this weather system, rain-thunderstorms with a few heavy falls are likely in Karachi, Hyderabad, Thatta, Badin, Mirpurkhas, Thaparker, Umerkot, Sanghar, Tando Muhammad Khan (TMK), Tando Allahyar, Dadu and Jamshoro districts of Sindh and Lasbella, Uthal, Ormara, Pasni, Gwadar, Jiwani, Turbat, Awaran and Ketch districts of Balochistan during today and tomorrow.

The Met Office has said that the sea conditions would remain very rough during next 2 to 3 days advising fishermen of Sindh and Balochistan not to venture into open sea till tomorrow.

The windstorm may cause damage to loose and vulnerable structures, the weather office warned.

Pakistan Meteorological Department’s Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre Karachi is closely monitoring the system and updates will be issued accordingly, the PMD said while advising all concerned Authorities to remain vigilant during the forecast period.