Karachi:
Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab on Wednesday said the city’s recent rainfall was part of the broader challenge of climate change, which has also caused destruction in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir in recent days.
By tackling a press conference, he said global warming and climate change was a reality and a test for administrations around the world with reference to the situations in New York, Dubai and Mumbai.
The mayor said the heavy rain left residents who face difficulties with criticism and political point scoring further aggravate the situation. He noted that Karachi’s storm water drain has only one capacity of 40 mm. “When rainfall exceeds this amount, consequences become clear,” he said.
Read: Second spell of rain hits karachi
“Yesterday, Karachi was also witnessing stormy rain,” he said, adding that two spells hit the city the same day, with the first beginning in the morning. He said the drainage efforts were launched when the rain subsided and the conditions on the main roads had improved at 1 p.m. 12.30.
Another magic form hit around 1 p.m. 13.15 and continued non-stop until early Wednesday morning, according to Wahab. Manghopir received 235 mm of rain, while more than 170 mm was registered all over the city in 12 hours.
He urged citizens to avoid unnecessary journeys and warned that the biggest challenge during rescue operations was to maintain traffic flow.
