Sea level rises in Arabian Sea as cyclone intensifies

KARACHI: The sea level has risen as the cyclone in the Arabian Sea has intensified.

As result of the rise, water has entered homes in several neigbourhoods of Rheri Goth in Karachi. The cyclone is 680 KM away from Karachi and is travelling at 10 KM/hour towards Oman.

The MET office said there is no threat from the cyclone to Pakistan’s coastal areas, adding that some areas will receive rain from Friday night till Saturday.

The MET office has also advised fishermen not to be in the open sea from Friday till Sunday.

Meanwhile the Sindh government has placed the concerned departments on high-alert and cautioned people to avoid visiting beaches.

Protests grow as loadshedding intensifies

LAHORE: A heatwave has gripped the plains of the country in the last 24 hours. Protests and demonstrations were held in several cities of the country against long power cuts, which have disrupted normal life.

In Dadu, a maximum of 45C temperature was recorded while it remained 40C in Lahore and Multan, 39 in Faisalabad and 42C in Karachi.Meanwhile, the maximum temperature recorded in Mitthi and Chaur was 44C and Sibi, Rohri, Turbat and Lasbela 43C.

According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department, dry weather is expected in most parts of the country during the next two to three days. The Met office also predicted an increase in the intensity of heat.

On the other hand, the duration of loadshedding has been increased and several cities had to bear long loadshedding on Monday, which disturbed the routine life, especially the business community.

The unscheduled loadshedding has blown away the government’s claim that it has controlled loadshedding. With the advent of summer, the duration of loadshedding has been increased from six to 12 hours in several cities of the country, while in the countryside 8-16 hours loadshedding is being carried out.

Meanwhile, protests and demonstrations were held in several cities due to long loadshedding, which paralysed the normal life.The protesters, including traders, shopkeepers, students and others, condemned the long loadshedding and demanded the government to take steps to reduce the loadshedding.The demonstrations were held in Lahore, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Chakwal, Rawalpindi, Attock Kasur, Nankana Sahib, Quetta, Peshawar, Hyderabad, Sukkur and other cities of Sindh.