First winter rain brings relief from smog

LAHORE :Finally after a lapse of almost 15 days the citizens got relief from the poisonous smog as first winter rain hit the city here Tuesday.

The smog, which had turned the provincial capital into a gas chamber, faded away with the rain, Met officials said, adding a westerly wave has been affecting upper and central parts of the country and may persist for the next 48 hours.

They predicted that more rain-thunderstorm with snowfall over the hills is expected at scattered places in KP, Fata, Islamabad, upper Punjab (Rawalpindi, Lahore, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Sargodha divisions), Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan while rain-thunderstorm at isolated places in Dera Ghazi Khan, Multan, Sahiwal and Zhob divisions. They added that following the rain, dense foggy/smoggy conditions are likely to subside in plain areas of Punjab. The much-awaited rain, though slow, has changed the city’s mood and many people who kept themselves indoor due to smog have come out to enjoy the cloudy skies and wet roads in the provincial capital. The light rain, on the other side, also caused traffic jams across the city as several main roads, including Ferozepur Road, Canal Bank Road, Multan Road, Jail Road, Walton Road and etc were clogged with slowed down traffic.

Met officials said on Tuesday rain-thunderstorm occurred at scattered places in Faisalabad, Multan, Bahawalpur, DG Khan, Kohat, DI Khan, Sukkur, Larkana, Quetta, Kalat, Zhob and Sibbi divisions while weather remained dry in other parts of the country.

Rainfall was recorded at several cities, including Zhob (28mm), Barkhan and Kalat (07mm), Quetta (Smugli 04mm, Sheikh Manda 01mm), Lasbella (01mm), Layyah (16mm), Dera Ghazi Khan (12mm), Kot Addu (11mm), Khanpur (09mm), Bhakkar (07mm), Multan (06mm), Bahawalpur (A/P 03mm, City 01mm), Toba Tek Singh (02mm), Jhang (01mm), DI Khan (13mm), Bannu (01mm) Sibbi (11mm), Jacobabad (06mm), Mohen-Jo-Daro (04mm) and Rohri and Sukkur (02mm each). Met officials said Tuesday’s minimum temperature was recorded at Skardu where mercury dropped down to -04°C while in Lahore, maximum temperature dropped down to 17°C while minimum was 12.8°C.