Exposure to sea winds in Karachi causes the temperature to rise

KARACHI: Weather in the port city is likely to remain very hot and humid due to absence of winds from the sea, according to the weather department.

Karachi is witnessing hot weather from morning onwards after the Arabian Sea winds subside, having a calming effect on the city’s climate.

According to the Met Office, a minimum temperature of 27 degrees Celsius was recorded in the city today. The maximum temperature is likely to reach 37 degrees, but it will feel like 40 to 42 degrees Celsius, the weather office said.

The humidity level in the port city rose to 77 percent, the Met Office said.

The sea breeze, with its cooling effect on the climate, usually keeps mercury levels in the city under control even during the region’s strongest heatwaves.

In June 2015, a severe heatwave had caused over 1,100 heat-related deaths in Karachi after winds from the Arabian Sea stopped blowing into the city.

About 400 kilometers from Karachi, an unprecedented weather system formed in the Arabian Sea – a huge and wide low pressure area, which later turned into a low pressure area – and stopped the sea breeze.

The low pressure area remained stationary in the Arabian Sea for a few days and caused a temperature increase of 10 degrees Celsius in Karachi, resulting in an unprecedented number of deaths due to unbearable weather during the month of Ramadan in 2015.