PESHAWAR, June 24: People in the northern and north-eastern regions of the country will continue to suffer the sizzling weather as the ongoing heatwave is likely to persist in July also due to a delay in monsoon, according to meteorologists.

They told Dawn on Friday that the monsoon delay was the result of last winter’s El-Nino phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean which caused heavy snowfall and torrential rains in several areas in the north of the country.

Originating from the Arabian Sea, the monsoon weather system, according to meteorologists, enters Pakistan from the northeast in the first week of July, after passing through Bangladesh and most of India in May and June.

“But this year the monsoon is late, at least by two weeks, or even more, due to low temperatures (in May and June) in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.”

According to the meteorologists, the monsoon rains are expected from the third week of July instead of the first week.

The eruption of El-Nino phenomenon in the Pacific, said the meteorologists, disturbed the weather system in South Asia, Far East and Central Asia.

As a result, summer temperatures were below normal in northern parts of Pakistan, including Gilgit, Skardu, Parachinar, Swat valley and Peshawar and some parts of north-eastern Punjab.

“In Pakistan, summer begins in April with temperature touching 35 Celsius plus,” said a meteorologist. However this year the weather was pleasant in May and even for a parts of June in the north where temperature remained around 30 Celsius.

Showing some satellite images the meteorologist said the monsoon had started in parts of India.

But the system is not strong enough to reach Pakistan by the first week of July. It is likely to take a couple of more weeks to touch the north-eastern parts of the country in Punjab.

Because of the change in the weather patron, the meteorologists said, monsoon rains were expected to commence in the third week of July in Punjab and in August in the NWFP.

“There are greater chances that light rains commence in the fourth week of July and heavy downpour in the first week of August,” said another meteorologist.

As rains were not in sight for another three to four weeks, he said, the current heatwave would maintain its intensity in north-eastern Punjab and northern parts of the country.

In a recent forecast, the Pakistan meteorological department predicted 15 to 20 per cent below normal monsoon rains in July-August and 15 to 20 per cent above normal rains in August-September.

The department expects the overall monsoon rains for the July-September period to settle at the normal level.