KARACHI: The Met Office forecast said a low-pressure area, called Depression, in the Arabian Sea has been at a distance of 270 kilometres off the Karachi coast and slowly moved northwestward.
The Depression over Northeast Arabian Sea and adjoining Gulf of Kutch has moved with a speed of 5 kilometres per hour during the last 18 hours and now lies centred around Latitude 22.8°N and Longitude 68.5°E at a distance of about 270 kilometres southeast of Karachi and 220 kilometres from Thatta.
Maximum sustained surface wind is 50-55 kilometres per hour around the system centre. The system is likely to keep moving northwestward for some time and then recurve to westwards (towards the Oman coast), the weather agency said in a statement.
Under the influence of this weather system, heavy rains are expected in Karachi, Hyderabad, Thatta, Badin, Mirpurkhas, Thaparker, Umerkot, Sanghar, Tando Muhammad Khan, Tando Allahyar, Dadu and Jamshoro districts of Sindh and Lasbella, Uthal, Ormara, Pasni, Gwadar, Jiwani, Turbat, Awaran and Ketch districts of Balochistan.
The Met Office has said the sea conditions would remain very rough during the next two to three days advising fishermen of Sindh and Balochistan not to venture into open sea till Monday night.
The windstorm may cause damage to loose and vulnerable structures, the weather office warned.
Pakistan Meteorological Department’s Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre is closely monitoring the system and updates will be issued accordingly, the agency said, advising the authorities to remain vigilant during the forecast period.
