July proved to be an extraordinary month in terms of precipitation this year with recorded levels of rainfall exceeding the normal annual figures by 13 to 14 percent, as monsoon spells continued across the country.
Pre-monsoon rains kicked-off in mid-June while full-fledged monsoon began in the last week of June.
The normal monsoon season ranges from July to September. Around 250.3 millimetres of rain fell in the airport area in July, which was 13 percent more than the normal levels and 245.2 millimetres of rain were recorded in the city, which was 14 percent above the normal level.
The Met Office said 10 percent above the normal level of rainfall were expected in the northern parts of the country, while 10 percent less rainfall was expected in the southern parts. An aggressive start to the monsoon season was witnessed this year with 123 millimetres of rainfall recorded in the last week of June in the airport area and 58 millimetres of rainfall in the city. Southern areas of the country witnessed lower rainfall, as only 7.7 and 10.2 millimetres of rainfall occurred in Karachi and Larkana in July respectively, far below the normal levels of 66.2 and 69.4 millimetres according to Met Office data.
Around 200 millimetres of rain was the normal level in Lahore during August, but with the added 10 percent, around 220 millimetres of rainfall is expected in the current month. Around 70 millimetres of rainfall is the normal level for September.
According to the Met Office, 17 millimeters of rain fell in the airport area on Thursday while only 0.4 millimetres of rain fell in the city. Normal rainfall for any month was determined by the average amount of rain recorded in the last 30 years. A Met Office official told Pakistan Today that so far normal monsoon rains had occurred in the country, which was also predicted by the Met Office. Talking about lower rainfall in the southern parts of the country, he said that more rains were expected in the southern parts later in the year.
The latest monsoon spell, which began on Thursday, will cause scattered rains with thundershowers in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), Islamabad and Rawalpindi, Lahore, Gujranwala, Sargodha, Faisalabad, Peshawar, Malakand, Hazara and Kohat in the coming days. The Met Office also said more monsoon currents were likely to penetrate parts of the country from Saturday, which would produce isolated heavy rainfall in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and AJK from Saturday to Tuesday.
