KARACHl: The province of Sindh remains in the grip of hot and dry weather as mercury soared to 40 degrees Celsius in many cities, including Karachi, on Saturday.

Nawabshah and Hyderabad become hottest places in the country as mercury surged to 42°C, followed by Karachi, Mithi and Turbat where maximum temperature recorded on Saturday was 40°C.

The Met department indicated no immediate respite from the hot weather conditions that are expected to prevail during the next three to four days.

`Prevailing hot and dry weather to continue in the province with lower Sindh including Karachi seeing day-time maximum temperature rising to 37-39 degrees Celsius during the next three days,` says a Met Office advisory.

`There is a high pressure area over Afghanistan pushing dry continental winds from northwest towards Karachi, raising its temperature,` explained Chief Meteorologist Dr Sardar Sarfaraz.

According to him, this pattern is likely to discontinue with the arrival of a westerly wave, which is expected to hit the northern parts of the country by the end of this month.

The maximum temperature recorded in Karachi on Saturday was 39.7°C, which is a 4.1°C deviation from the city`s monthly average temperature of October.

Humidity, or the amount of moisture in the air, dropped to 29 per cent in the afternoon in Karachi.

It is the third consecutive day when the mercury crossed 39°C in the metropolis.