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Country receives first rain of millennium

LAHORE: Pakistan received the first rainfall of the millennium, lifting the pall of fog and pollutants and restoring the prospects of a good crop.

The regional Met office reported here on Tuesday light but widespread rain throughout Punjab, NWFP and parts of Balochistan and Sindh.

Except for some regions in the north, the people of Pakistan had to wait exactly 97 days since it last rained on October 5, last year.

The rain augured well for the faithful as they had specially prayed for it in every mosque during the auspicious Eid prayers, as the long brought spell had started adversely affecting the agro-economy. Infesting viruses and pollutants in the atmosphere were also targetting the health of the people.

In Punjab capital, it started drizzling soon after 8.00 a.m. when people were getting ready or were on their way to work after three days' festivities during Eid holidays.

It was a light shower that continued sporadically at a slow pace. By noon, the Met office hardly recorded 1.6 mm rain at the Lahore airport and almost the same was the position in the city, which only made the roads slippery.

From the meteorological viewpoint, it was, however, not a much delayed rain as both November and December normally go as dry months. The average rainfall for the months estimated of a mean of the last 30 years, is 4.7 mm and 1.3 mm respectively.

The year the two months went almost blank except for an immeasurable 'trace,' as it is technically known, in November.

The drought however made a more telling impact on people because the last monsoon rainfall remained below average and then there was a long lull.

About the future prospects of rain, weather experts including senior meteorologist Riaz Ahmad Khan and Met Director, Sheikh Munir, said the present westerly will yield more rain for another day or so.

The Met experts said that even otherwise, temperatures start to rise after mid-January, promising a good crop, the backbone of the country's economy. APP