Fog adds to chill

LAHORE:Foggy weather has increased the chill in the air as mercury dipped to 2.6°C in the city here on Tuesday while Met office predicted similar weather conditions for the next 24 hours.

The city witnessed a foggy weather all day while the fog started to thicken in the night. This has resulted in an increase in cold, which also increased the demand of hot drinks and high protein food such as coffee, tea, soup, fish and etc. On the other hand, the citizens were facing acute problems of low gas pressure while residents of many areas were complaining about no gas at all. They said the rates of LPG and coal have also gone out of their reach and they also can’t afford to pay high electricity bills in winter by using electric stoves and heaters. Met officials said continental air was prevailing over most parts of the country. Tuesday’s lowest minimum temperature was recorded at Leh where mercury dropped down to -16°C while in Lahore it was 2.6°C and maximum was 14°C.

Trains, flights schedule: Dense fog has disrupted flight and train operations across the country. Several trains running between Lahore, Karachi, Quetta and other cities were delayed for up to five hours.

According to a railways spokesperson, Tezgam Express coming from Karachi was delayed for four hours, Millat Express four hours, Pakistan Express three hours, Pak Business Express for three hours, Karakoram Express five hours, Karachi Express for 5 hours, Allama Iqbal Express 4:30 hours, Khyber Mail Express 1:30 hours, Jafar Express two hours and Farid Express was delayed for one hour. Moreover, poor visibility badly affected flight operations at Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport as several flights have been delayed or cancelled. Several motorways including Lahore - Multan, Lahore - Islamabad and Lahore - Sialkot were closed for traffic due to fog. According to a spokesperson for motorway police, due to fog Lahore - Multan Motorway from Faizpur to Rajana while Lahore - Islamabad Motorway from Thokar Niaz Baig to Kala Shah Kaku, M-2 Motorway from Lahore to Kot Momin have been closed.