Torrential rains on Thursday drenched Lahore as the metropolis received 350 millimetres in three hours, breaking a 44-year-old record.

Heavy rains have caused rainwater to enter homes in the Tajpura area, inundated roads, and disrupted commuting early in the morning. Additionally, electricity has been suspended in multiple areas.

But the downpur wasn’t restricted to Lahore as Karachi, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Sheikhupura, Pakpattan, Kasur, Jehlum, and several other cities of the country recieved rain, with low-lying areas submerged.

Commenting on the situation in Lahore, Sardar Sarfaraz, chief meteorologist at the Pakistan Meteorological Department, termed the rains “torrential”.

He added that there are heavy rains across Lahore. “There were more rains in Sindh compared to Punjab. But this was expected.”

“This spell is expected to see a fall in its intensity, but it will keep raining intermittently till today evening as there’s a substantial cloud mass. From August 1-6 several parts of the country will see rain,” he said.

With heavy downpours paralysing the city, water entered Services Hospital and Mayo Hospital’s emergency department, causing extreme distress to the patients.

According to the National Highways and Motorway Police (NH&MP) spokesperson, intermittent rain is continuing at most places on the national highways.

Karachi

Sarfaraz said that in Karachi, it rained to a maximum of 11-12mm — light to moderate. “However, there are some areas in Karachi where there was no downpour.”

The chief meteorologist said that it is expected that rain would halt tomorrow. However, he said, from August 3, there’s another spell expected, which will continue till August 6.

“Across the country, for the next 10 days, we expect heavy rains,” he added.

Sadar, II Chundrigar, Tariq Road, Gulsitan-e-Jauhar, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Sharea Faisal, Airport Road, Malir Halt, and Malir Cantt have been receiving rain intermittently.