.
KARACHI:
The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) warned on Monday that pollution caused by recent US-Israeli attacks on Iranian oil facilities could deteriorate air quality in western parts of Pakistan if prevailing winds carry pollutants across the border.
In a statement, the Meteorological Office said atmospheric currents originating in Iran can transport pollutants to neighboring regions of Pakistan.
“Due to [the] recent situation in Iran, winds can carry pollutants and deteriorate air quality in the western parts of the country,” the PMD said.
Separately, the PMD forecast rain and thunderstorms in the upper parts of Pakistan under the influence of a westerly weather system that is expected to approach on Monday night and persist until March 12.
The Met Office forecast cloudy to cloudy weather with moderate rain, wind and thunderstorms, including occasionally heavy falls, in several districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa including Dir, Kohistan, Chitral, Swat, Shangla, Battagram, Buner, Malakand, Mansehra, Abbottabad and Haripur.
Similar weather conditions are expected in Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir during the same period.
Light rain and thunderstorm are also likely on March 10 and 11 in Khyber, Mohmand, Peshawar, Swabi, Mardan, Charsadda, Nowshera, Bajaur, Bannu, Waziristan, Orakzai, Kurram, Kohat, Hangu and Mianwali.
According to the PMD, rain, wind and thunderstorm are also expected in Islamabad, Potohar region, Murree, Galliyat and nearby areas from Monday night to March 11, at intermittent intervals.
“Hailstorm is also likely to occur at isolated places in Islamabad and upper parts of the country during the forecast period,” the statement said.
