A weather system stretching from Oman to Kyrgyzstan hits Pakistan with a sandstorm and destructive winds.

Pakistan’s biggest city Karachi was hit by a sudden sandstorm that killed at least three people with strong winds bringing down trees, and causing power outages and flight delays.

The visibility dropped to below 500 metres overnight and although things improved after dawn on Monday, strong winds kept blowing under a cloudy sky. Several buildings were severely damaged.

Karachi was not alone, the weather system hit other parts of Pakistan too, bringing dust, wind and rain. Barkhan in Balochistan received its average April rainfall in just two days.

A bonus of this weather was the reduction in temperatures. In Sindh province, Chhor had been creeping beyond 42 degrees Celsius but Monday saw a maximum of 38C.

The cause was an active frontal system that had already brought significant rain to Qatar on Saturday, four days of thundery rain to the United Arab Emirates, and desert flooding to Oman on Sunday.

The mother of the system, the area of low pressure, was over Iran that later shifted to Afghanistan.