Cold wave to persist in most parts of country

ISLAMABAD: Cold weather is likely to persist in most parts of the country as the mercury dropped to as low as -15 degrees Celsius in the northern areas due to heavy snowfall, said the meteorological department on Wednesday.

According to the state-run radio, scattered rain and snowfall is expected in isolated areas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan during the next 12 hours while fog will continue to grip parts of Punjab and Sindh during the early hours of the morning and late at night.

According to weather forecasts, the temperature is likely to drop to 12 degrees Celsius in Karachi tomorrow (Thursday) due to cold winds blowing from the northeast.

This is the last cold wave expected in the metropolis for the current season during which Karachi experienced temperatures as low as eight degrees Celsius. On Wednesday morning, the lowest temperature was recorded in Skardu at -15 degrees Celsius; the temperature in Islamabad, Peshawar, Lahore and Quetta was recorded as one degree, 14 degrees, seven degrees and -3 degrees Celsius, respectively. Despite this, tourists are undeterred by the blistering cold gripping the northern parts of the country and have come out in droves to enjoy the snowfall.

Over the past week, extreme weather claimed the lives of approximately 100 citizens as avalanches, snowfall and rain wreaked havoc in Azad Kashmir, Punjab, Balochistan and KP.