LAHORE, Dec 31: Thick fog blanketed Lahore and several other cities of Punjab on Sunday, badly affecting air, road and rail traffic, and intensifying winter.

In Lahore, fog further dropped temperature, making it the coldest day of the current winter. Sun peeped through the fog cover for a while in the afternoon but it looked pale and unable to warm up the cold-hit city.

Airport authorities reported almost a total disruption of the flight schedule, saying many incoming international flights were diverted to other cities because of poor visibility.

There was a huge backlog of flights, creating a great deal of inconvenience for passengers. But there was not much rush at the airport as the majority of the people were inquiring about their flights by telephone, the authorities said.

The Pakistan Railways officials said that many trains reached the city several hours late because they had to be moved at a snail’s pace on the foggy track.

The Awam Express was late by 2.35 hours, Karakoram by 6.30 hours, Karachi Express by 11 hours, Sindh Express by 9 hours and Tezgam 8.30 hours, causing a great deal of inconvenience for passengers.

Vehicular traffic moved at very slow pace in Lahore and on highways in the province because the reduced visibility made driving extremely difficult and risky. Motorists had to switch on lights of their vehicles to avoid accidents even on the streets of Lahore till noon.

The foggy and cold weather marred preparations for Eidul Azha as people, especially motorcyclists, found it inconvenient to go out.

Met Office officials said that the thick blanket of fog covered almost all cities of Punjab because of persistent cold and dry weather, pollution and quiet air.