Light rain was reported in several parts of Karachi Thursday morning, offering some respite from the prevailing warm conditions in the city, a day after the Sindh Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) issued an alert for the upcoming wet spell. 

Drizzle was recorded in central areas including Saddar, Clifton, MA Jinnah Road and the Old City Area. The rainfall later spread to northern neighbourhoods such as North Karachi, New Karachi and Surjani Town.

Before the showers, gale-force winds lashed the port city. 

While the showers were light, they brought a noticeable change in the weather, with cooler winds accompanying the rain in some localities.

There were no immediate reports of disruption, though intermittent rainfall is expected to continue in parts of the city.

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has forecast cloudy weather in Karachi over the next 24 hours, with chances of rain and drizzle in parts of the city.

According to the Met Office, some areas in the port city may receive rain or drizzle accompanied by strong winds and thunderstorms during the day today (Thursday). The department said the city’s maximum temperature is expected to remain around 32 degrees Celsius.

The minimum temperature was recorded at 24 degrees Celsius during the last 24 hours, while the humidity level stood at 79%. Meanwhile, winds are currently blowing from the north-west at a speed of 11 kilometres per hour.

The latest forecast comes as weather conditions in the port city remain unsettled under the prevailing system affecting parts of Sindh.

Earlier this week, the PMD predicted the wet spell, saying the port city, along with Thatta, Badin, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Dadu, Kashmore, Jacobabad, and Larkana, are expected to receive rain and thunderstorms on March 25, 26, 28, and 29. 

In the wake of the rain forecast, Sindh Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) instructed its staff to remain on high alert with all necessary machinery ready.

As per the alert, strong winds and hail may damage weak structures and solar panels, while temperatures are expected to drop.

Residents have been advised to avoid unnecessary travel. Tourists and travellers are urged to take precautions, and farmers are advised to protect crops in advance.

The rain alert was issued in compliance with the orders of Sindh Chief Secretary Asif Haider Shah, who chaired a meeting in connection with the weather forecast. 

During the meeting, he directed all commissioners, deputy commissioners, and assistant commissioners to remain in the field for the next seven days.

He instructed the district administrations and local bodies to be fully mobilised.

Authorities have been ordered to ensure machinery for water drainage is available and operational, maintain traffic flow, and remove hazardous billboards.

Public awareness campaigns and all precautionary measures are to be completed ahead of the predicted weather events.

Meta reveals a sweeping series of AI-driven commerce updates at Shoptalk 2026 on Tuesday, March 24, alongside a new company-wide initiative focusing on boosting AI adoption among small businesses.

The social media giant announces new features, including AI-supported product discovery features across Facebook and Instagram that generate summarised user reviews, brand insights, and product recommendations when users interact with ads or retailer links.

The experience also includes AI recommendations where users will be able to interact with ads or retailer links. 

The experience involved AI-generated summaries of customer feedback alongside pricing insights and purchasing options.

Additionally, Meta rolls out an updated built-in checkout flow developed in association with Stripe and PayPal. 

This will enable merchants to handle fulfillment directly. The company also plans to integrate Adyen and Shopify and extend affiliate programs with Amazon, eBay, Temu, Mercado Libre, and Shopee.

Simultaneously, Meta also announced Meta Small Business, a company-wide initiative aimed at fostering entrepreneurship and AI usage. 

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, announced this, noting that small businesses are at the heart of Meta’s ecosystem, and Dina Powell McCormick and Naomi Gleit, who are both senior executives, will lead this initiative.

A Los Angeles jury found Alphabet’s Google and Meta liable for $3m in damages on Wednesday in a landmark social media addiction lawsuit that will influence thousands of similar cases against the tech companies.

Punitive damages for the companies will be decided next. The jury may consider whether Google or Meta’s products caused the plaintiff physical harm or whether the companies disregarded the health of other users, Judge Carolyn Kuhl said in court.

The case involves a 20-year-old woman who said she became addicted to Google’s YouTube and Meta’s Instagram at a young age because of their attention-grabbing design. The jury found Google and Meta were negligent in the design of both apps and failed to warn about their dangers.

“Today’s verdict is a referendum — from a jury, to an entire industry — that accountability has arrived,” the plaintiff’s lead counsel said in a statement.

Shares of Meta were up 1% and Alphabet shares were up 0.2%, little changed after the verdict.

Meta disagrees with the verdict and its lawyers are “evaluating our legal options,” a company spokesperson said. Google plans to appeal, said company spokesperson José Castañeda.

The plaintiffs in the Los Angeles proceeding focused on platform design rather than content, making it harder for the companies to avert liability.

Snap and TikTok were also defendants in the trial. Both were settled with the plaintiff before it began. Terms of the agreements were not disclosed.

Mounting criticism

Large technology companies in the US have faced mounting criticism in the last decade over child and teen safety. The debate has now shifted to courts and state governments. The US Congress has declined to pass comprehensive legislation regulating social media.

At least 20 states enacted laws last year on social media usage and children, according to the nonpartisan National Conference of State Legislatures, an organisation that tracks state laws.

The legislation includes bills that regulate the use of cellphones in schools and require users to verify their ages to open a social media account. NetChoice, a trade association backed by tech companies such as Meta and Google, is seeking to invalidate age verification requirements in court.

A separate social media addiction case brought by several states and school districts against technology companies is expected to go to trial this summer in federal court in Oakland, California.

Another state trial is slated to begin in Los Angeles in July, said Matthew Bergman, one of the attorneys leading the cases for the plaintiffs. It will involve Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat.

Separately, a New Mexico jury on Tuesday found Meta violated state law in a lawsuit brought by the state’s attorney general, who accused the company of misleading users about the safety of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp and of enabling child sexual exploitation on those platforms.