Clouds in Karachi – Mackerel fish all over the city!

“Mackerel Fish swimming over Karachi sky!”

With chilly winds at night and all-welcome sunlight during the morning, Karachiites feel the smell of winter. Though winter in this coastal city is not harsh neither severe but is enough to cause the people to wear warm clothes. In Karachi, it does not rain frequently during the winter season so any cloudy activity is greeted with good mood by Karachiites. Today (January 21) fishes were all over the sky of the city and as the hours passed by they slowly slowly swam in a opposite direction.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

What types of clouds were over the city? 

Altocumulus clouds are “fishes”

Altocumulus clouds are also known as “Mackerel sky”, they have a similar appearance as compared with the body features of King Mackerel fish. Altocumulus clouds are about 6,500 ft. – 20,000 ft high in the sky, they are represented by  (sign of cloud). They are mid-level clouds but these are referred as ‘Alto’ which means high, they are usually white or light gray and occur in sheets that could be either large or small. Because of their lower altitudes, they are composed primarily of water droplets. These types of clouds do not bring rainfall but they are an indication of a developing thunderstorm later during the day or night. Another type of Altocumulus cloud is Altostratus cloud which can cause one or two shower but not all Altostratus cause precipitation.

Altostratus clouds is also a mid-level, sun can be observed through the cloud. In its thicker form, the sun can only occasionally be observed through the thinner sections if not at all. Altostratus can produce precipitation. If the precipitation becomes persistent, the cloud then becomes known as nimbostratus.

Who is King Mackerel fish?

These types of fishes belong to the Scombridae family, King is a migratory fish that is mostly common in some parts of Atlantic ocean and Gulf of Mexico. King Mackerel fish are medium in size, they also have small but hard scales on their body. King mackerel prefer warm waters, and seldomly enter waters below 68° F. King Mackerel spawn from April to November, with males maturing between their second and third year, and females between their third and fourth year. They feed on other migratory fishes, squid and shrimp.

Although this fish is edible but small children and pregnant women are advised to avoid eating this fish since it has high level of methyl mercury and thus can cause mercury poisoning. But the Mackerel cloud is not harmful!