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LAHORE: With dense fog continuing to blanket most plain areas of Punjab and upper Sindh on Saturday, the Met Office forecast rain in upper and central Punjab, Islamabad and Kashmir and snowfall in Murree, Nathia Gali, Gilgit-Baltistan and upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Sunday (today).
On the other hand, the chilly weather coupled with dense fog starting around 6pm in the last couple of days has badly disrupted routine life, especially for those travelling within or outside the cities.
“On Friday and Saturday night, I reached home from the office in around two hours as there was almost zero visibility on the way. Usually, it takes 20 to 30 minutes to cover a distance of around 15 kilometres to reach home,” Zeeshan, a motorist, told Dawn on Saturday. “I also narrowly escaped a couple of accidents due to the thick fog.”
In the last couple of days, the sun appeared over the city and its adjoining districts for a short while only. It began losing strength in the afternoon with the sudden appearance of fog that gradually dominated the urban and rural areas. The cold weather and wind in Punjab and upper Sindh confined most people indoors.
Light showers likely in Lahore, other cities of province
“In Sukkur and its adjoining districts, dense fog continues to dominate nights and early mornings, causing great difficulty to travellers, especially those suffering from asthma. The same weather prevails in a number of cities on the way from Sukkur to Hyderabad,” Dilshad, a resident of Sukkur, told Dawn. “This winter seems very hard for people with low immunity — children and the elderly.”
The Met Office stated that a westerly wave has approached the upper and western parts of the country and it may persist in the upper parts till Monday (tomorrow). It added that cloudy weather is expected in the upper areas with rain and snowfall in Gilgit-Baltistan, upper KP and north Balochistan. Dense fog is likely to persist in the plain areas of Punjab.
“The minimum temperatures in Lahore, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Sargodha, Multan, Sahiwal and Rahim Yar Khan was 3.4, 3.17, 3.8, 3.5, 5.2, 5.5 and 5.5 degrees Celsius, respectively. There will be light showers in Lahore and other cities of Punjab on Sunday (today). Fog will also continue to dominate Punjab and upper Sindh areas,” a Met official told Dawn. “There are sunny days ahead, however nights and early mornings will remain in the grip of severe cold coupled with fog.”
The lowest minimum temperatures were recorded in Leh -14, Gupis and Skardu -9, Astore -8, Parachinar-5, Bagrote, Kalam and Gilgit -4 and Kalat -3.
Meanwhile, the cold weather and various technical issues affected the Pakistan Railways operations, as various trains from Lahore to Karachi and other parts of the country departed late.
“The Karakoram Express departed at 3:30pm instead of 3pm, followed by Pak Business Express that departed for Karachi at 5pm instead of 4pm. The Karachi Express and Shah Hussain Express also departed at 5:30pm instead of 5pm and 9:30pm instead of 7:30pm, respectively,” according to a press release.