03 January 2004	Saturday	10 Ziqa'ad 1424

LAHORE, Jan 2: Fog over the plains of Punjab, including Lahore, for the second day running on Friday did not allow the sun to warm up Lahorites.

In Lahore, the temperature at noon was 10 degrees C. It went up to a maximum 11.2 degrees C, providing no relief against the bite of cold weather.

People, especially the elderly and children, preferred to remain indoors. Reduction in the pressure of gas was reported in many parts of the city because of the overuse of gas heaters.

According to Chief Meteorologist Shaukat Awan, the canopy of fog extended up to Rahim Yar Khan, Khanpur and Dera Ghazi Khan in southern Punjab and up to Banaras in India. The weather condition would likely to persist for at least next 48 hours, he said.

The Met office reported that fog reduced visibility to a meagre 30 metres in Khanpur and Rahim Yar Khan, making it hard to drive on the highways. Transporters and railway authorities said buses and trains were moving at a slow place to avoid accidents.

Fog had started descending on Lahore after midnight. It reduced visibility to only 50 meters at 7am, which started improving at around 11am. The minimum temperature during the night was 7.9 degrees C while the maximum from 7am to 9am was only 8 degrees C.

Quetta was the coldest place in the country with the minimum temperature -8 degrees C. It was followed by Kalam and Skardu -7 degrees C, Malamjabba -6, Murree -5, Astore and Dir -3, Chitral -2 and Drosh -1 degrees C.