ISLAMABAD: More rains are coming, beginning Friday night, warns the Pakistan Meteorological Department.

But its more worrisome prediction is that they may cause flash floods and water-logging in upper Punjab, GilgitBaltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

According to the Met Office, the current hot and humid weather across the country is set to invite a new spell of rainfall, starting with scattered thundershowers and isolated heavy falls over upper parts of the country during Friday to Monday.

However, the weather is likely to remain hot and humid in most parts of the country on Thursday. The residents of Rawalpindi and Islamabad would face pinching heat on Thursday and Friday.

The maximum temperature in Islamabad on Wednesday was 35 degrees C. But high humidity of more than 75 per cent, with low air pressure and low wind speed of around 19 kilometres per hour, made the heat feel like around 40 degrees C.

Strong sunshine beating over the whole of Pakistan and Central and Northern India has been creating lowpressure environment over the large region, which is very inviting to the warm and moist monsoon winds originating in the Bay of Bengal.

Similarly, the seasonal low pressure developing over north Balochistan and adjoining areas is expected to invite a dry but cool westerly wave coming from Central Asia.

`Both the cool westerly and the warm moist monsoon winds from the East are expected to affect upper parts of the country on Friday evening and would persist there till Monday,` an official of the Met Office said.

`The combination of these warm and cool winds will bring thundershowers, accompanied by heavy rains at some places.

The Met Office spokesman said monsoon currents will start penetrating upper parts of Pakistan from Thursday and the westerly wave is likely to grip the same areas on Friday evening.

Weak monsoon currents that penetrated north-eastern parts of the country in the meantime brought rain and thundershowers to isolated places in Lahore andGujranwaladivisionsonWednesday.

This interaction of the monsoon currents and the westerly wave may bring heavy rain to isolated areas in Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Hazara,Peshawar and Mardan divisions and very heavy falls in the catchment areas of major rivers during Friday night to Sunday.

Apart from Potohar, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and the KP, the Met department has issued a serious warning over the upcoming weather conditions in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Due to rise in temperature by two to four degrees C in Baltistan and Chitral during the next three days, the melting of snow in the region will be at a faster rate.

The temperature is increasing in wake of clear skies over the northern parts of the country. But it will be followed by light to moderate rainfall at some places.

`As a result, the melting rate will enhance which is likely to trigger flash flood events in Bagrot, Shigar, Skardu, Khaplu, Ghanche and the valleys of Chitral district,` the met department said.

It has warned that sudden heavy gush of water would swell the streams and rivers in the region after Saturday.

`People residing along the path of flow must remain vigilant during the period and authorities concerned may take necessary measures,` advised the Met Office.