LAHORE
As the cold wave continued to prevail in the city, the minimum temperature further fell down to 2°C here early Wednesday while Met office predicted very cold and dry weather in most parts of the country during the next 24 hours.
Dense fog during the late night and early morning hours continued to blanket the outskirts of the provincial metropolis decreasing visibility to almost zero at several places causing trouble for motorists. Met officials said very cold and dry weather is expected in most parts of the country. They said foggy conditions would continue to prevail over the plains of Punjab and upper Sindh during night and morning hours.
Following the increase in cold, Lahorites thronged various markets to buy warm clothes.
A crowd of people was also observed at various second hand clothes markets especially at railway station and opposite Mayo hospital. Sale of ear muffins and mufflers was also witnessed a surge as different types of ear muffs were available at shops and road-side stalls. An ordinary ear muff is available for Rs30 per piece while in posh area the same is being sold at Rs100. Similarly, the sale of winter-related food items such as dried fruits, fish and other edibles have also increased in the city. A rush of people can be witnessed at roadside stalls and shops of chicken corn soup, chicken broth, fried fish and etc. Several citizens told the scribe that true season of enjoying these food items had started.
As the winter extended its spell, the price of coal has also jumped to Rs80 per kg from Rs50 while the rate of LPG has also witnessed an unofficial increase of almost Rs25 per kg. At present 1kg of LPG is being sold at Rs100 per kg against the official rate of Rs80 per kg, citizens said. On the other hand, the Met officials said continental air is prevailing over most parts of the country. They said no rainfall was recorded at any part of the country. They said minimum temperature was recorded at Kalam where mercury fell down to -16°C while at Astore it was -12°C, Skardu (-11°C), Kalat (-09°C), Dir, Gilgit and Gupis (-08°C), Quetta, Rawalakot and Bagrote (-07°C), Hunza and Malam Jabba (-06°C), Parachinar and Drosh (-05°C), Kakul (-04°C) and Murree and Chitral (-03°C).
The Met officials said the maximum highest temperature recorded in the provincial metropolis was 18°C while the minimum went down to 2°C. They said humidity level in the city was 23 percent.
