KARACHI/ ISLAMABAD: The Met Department on Sunday forecast that the metropolis could record its lowest temperature in seven years today as the cold wave across the country and the city was likely to get more severe from next week.
In 2013, Karachi had recorded a minimum temperature of 6°C. Another cold wave is expected to take hold of the city in January and, according to the Met Department, it could rain in Karachi from January 6-7.
A new wave of westerly winds has entered the country due to which the severity of cold will increase in Karachi from Monday to Friday. Moreover, strong winds are likely to blow in the city from Sunday. The Met Office said that the weather was expected to drop down to the single digit in Karachi.
On the other hand, Motorway M2, Lahore to Islamabad, Pindi Bhattian, and M3 from Lahore to Nankana Sahib were closed due to the fog. Meanwhile, snowfall in the nearby Murree and Galiyat areas caused bitter cold in Islamabad and its outskirts on Sunday.
Chilly winds coupled with overcast weather and dense fog swept through the region in both the daytime and at night, forcing people into spending most of their time indoors over the weekend. Some, however, drove out to drink soup and tea and have snacks and fried fish. Low gas pressure and gas outages were reported in some areas, adding to problems of residents.
According to the Met Office, rain is likely to fall in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, and adjoining areas on Monday morning. It forecast more snowfall in Murree, Galiyat, Swat, Kohistan, and parts of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
The weathermen said cold conditions were likely to grip upper parts of the country, while foggy conditions would intensify in plain areas of the country with frost in Potohar region and adjoining areas after the rain.
On Sunday, the Met Office recorded three degrees Celsius as the minimum temperature in Islamabad with 69 per cent humidity and zero degree Celsius as the minimum temperature in the nearby Murree hill station with 70 per cent humidity.
In Lahore, foggy weather followed by moderate rain was witnessed in the city here on Sunday while the Met office predicted similar weather conditions for the next 24 hours. The rain started early morning and continued in spans till late at night. The rain increased the chill in the air forcing majority of the citizens to remain indoors. The rain disrupted traffic movement on majority of the main roads of the provincial capital. The main roads like Ferozpur Road, Multan Road, Egerton Road, Main Boulevard Gulberg, The Mall, Canal Bank Road, Raiwind Road and others witnessed traffic movement at a snail's pace.
Meanwhile, thousands of picnickers and tourists, including women and children, thronged Landikotal to enjoy snowfall that has been continuing for the last 24 hours. Residents said the first snowfall of this year broke the 30-year record and it completely covered hills and plain areas with white sheet. According to the Met office, the plain areas received at least one feet while the hills received two feet snowfall.
Children and women were seen frolicking and enjoying themselves at different places in Landikotal on the Pak-Afghan Highway. Though most of the shops were closed in Landikotal bazaar, the ones offering fast food, Kabab, BBQ and tea were open packed with tourists.
Meanwhile, roads at various spots were jammed due to the unexpected rush of vehicles and heavy snowfall. “The heavy snowfall broke the record of the past 30 years. The snow has covered hills and plain areas of Landikotal,” said a local journalist.
Chaudhry Aslam from Attock city had come to Landikotal along with his two children and wife to enjoy the snowfall. A large number of visitors, mostly youngsters from Peshawar, Charsadda, Mardan and other places in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have arrived in Landikotal to enjoy the snowfall.
Muhammad Habib from Regi Lalma in Peshawar said that they had planned to visit Murree along with his cousins and friends, but when they saw video clips and pictures of Landikotal snowfall, they changed their minds and came to Landikotal.
However, he said that a lack of facilities dampened their enthusiasm. He said they could not make phone calls to friends using the social media apps due to the poor internet reception. Meanwhile, the residents complained that electricity supply had been cut off to the entire Landikotal since the start of the snowfall. The people were seen buying firewood to prepare food and keep themselves warm in the freezing cold.
A local elder Zarawar Khan, 65, who lives in the Walikhel area in Landikotal where the temperature never dropped to minus degree before, said for the first time in his life he saw snowfall at his home. He said the snow fell over on the hilltop in the past.
Met officials said a westerly wave was present over the upper parts of the country and may persist in upper parts till Monday. They predicted cold and dry weather in most parts of the country. Rain and snowfall were expected in upper Punjab, upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Kashmir and adjoining hilly areas. They added that dense fog was likely to prevail in central/southern Punjab and upper Sindh.
Sunday’s lowest minimum temperature was recorded at Leh where the mercury dropped down to -14°C while in Lahore it was 4.8°C and maximum was 12.6°C. Meanwhile, the schedules of several Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flights have been affected because of bad weather conditions across the country, it emerged on Sunday.
According to a PIA spokesperson, the schedule of different flights had to be changed after heavy mist engulfed several cities of Pakistan, including Karachi, Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, Sialkot, and its surrounding areas.
The spokesperson added that more flights are expected to be rescheduled because of the fog. "Domestic flights will resume operations after visibility on the runways is ensured," the spokesperson added. "On the other hand, international flights will land at alternate airports."
Earlier, 19 domestic and international flights had to be cancelled at the Allama Iqbal International Airport due to heavy fog. Aside from that, 16 flights have been delayed to avoid any untoward situations.
