PESHAWAR: Scattered downpour and snowfall was recorded in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata on Tuesday that turned the weather further chilly.

Light rain with some intervals hit Peshawar, Charsadda, Mardan, Nowshera, Swat and Dir Upper and Lower and tribal areas including Parachinar in Kurram Agency and others districts.

According to metrological department Peshawar, 10-inch snowfall was recorded in Kalam, Swat, 6-inch in Malam Jaba and one inch in Chitral. It said that Saidu Sharif got 5mm rain, Balakot 9mm, Parachinar 20mm, Chirat 3mm, Chitral 4mm, Dera Ismail Khan 1mm, Dir Lower 5mm, Drosh 7mm, Kakul 7mm, Kalam 11 and Dir Upper received 7mm rain.

According to Met office, widespread rainfall and snowfall is expected in upper parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and tribal areas in the 24 hours. “Heavy snowfall is expected in Chitral, Shangla, Naran, Kaghan and Hazara division on Tuesday and Wednesday,” Met officials said.

They said that occasional heavy rainfall might generate flash floods in the tributaries of the Kabul River and trigger landslide in hilly terrain.

Another long spell of rain in the plains and snowfall in the mountainous region of district Swat turned the weather chillier where mercury plummeted to minus four centigrade in plains and minus 16 centigrade in snow-covered areas.

The fresh spell of rain and snowfall began late on Monday night and continued till Tuesday evening. It increased cold and chill where according to district Swat Met office the rain and snowfall would continue till Friday.

Major bazaars of Mingora, Barikot, Kabal, Matta, Khwazakhela, Madyan, Bahrain and Kalam saw very few customers as majority of people preferred to remain indoors.

The snowfall in hilly areas and downpour in plains continued on third consecutive day in Shangla district, plunging mercury bellow minus.

Cold winds began in the day as major roads of the district remained blocked due to heavy snowfall. Power supply remained suspended to Bisham city for the last two days.

Snowfall at hilly areas started on Sunday morning and continued till late Monday night, disturbing routine of life.

Local people say that three to four feet snow has been recorded so far in Yakhtangay, Shangla Top, Ajmeer, Speen Ghar, Gamtal, Logay and Kandaw. However, rain lashed plain areas including Bisham city, Alpuri, Puran, Chakesar, Dandai and Martung.

The residents of Puran complained that Yakhtangy Road was blocked that disconnected the area from the rest of the district. They said that district administration was yet to start removing snow and clear roads.

The residents of Bisham demanded of Pesco to restore power supply to city. SDO Mohammad Ali told Dawn that suspension of power supply was because of fault in 33KV line in Battagram.

However, he said that restoration work was underway and hopefully electricity would be restored soon.

Published in Dawn January 25th, 2017