By Muhammad Luqman
Pre-monsoon rains may lash Pakistan from last week of June but the formal onset of the downpour is likely to start during first week of July, according to Pakistan Meteorological Department.
Most of the global models are indicating weak El-Nino conditions over Pacific Ocean and positive phase of Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD). Keeping in view, global and regional atmospheric circulations, rainfall over Pakistan as a whole for monsoon, 2019 (July-Sep) is likely to remain Near Normal.
” Normal to above normal rainfall is expected in upper half of Pakistan due to strong incursion of monsoon currents and their interaction with westerly weather system,” Director General PMD, Muhammad Riaz says.
Extreme weather event is also expected during the period and may cause flooding in the rivers and its adjoining tributaries.
On the other hand, slight to moderate, below normal rainfall is expected in the provinces of Sindh and Balochistan.
Average temperature is likely to remain 2-3 C above normal in the plain areas of the country, the seasonal outlook stated.
