LAHORE, Jan 2: Thick fog and severe cold continued to affect life in the plains of the country, including Lahore, on Wednesday.

Low pressure of gas is adding to the inconvenience of the people for whom gas heaters have become a luxury of the past which they once used to warm their homes and offices in winter.

Thick fog again forced closure of the motorway from Rawalpindi to Lahore during the early hours of the day. Flight schedule too was affected because of unfavourable aviation conditions.

The blanket of fog and severe cold is affecting especially the old and children.

Fog that developed over Lahore late on Tuesday night was cleared at around 11am, but a thick shield of mist persisted afterwards. The sun managed to peep through it in the late afternoon but without its warmth, appearing merely as a tablet in the sky.

The minimum temperature in Lahore was 3 degrees Celsius and the maximum 11 degrees.

The Met office reported foggy conditions in Rawalpindi, Mangla, Mandi Bahauddin, Faisalabad, Sahiwal, Toba Tek Singh, Bahawalnagar, Dera Ghazi Khan and Rahim Yar Khan. It said only rain would clear the fog next week.

The lowest minimum temperature was recorded in Skardu and Astore which was -14 degrees Celsius. It was -11 in Kalam, -10 each in Parachinar and Kalat, -9 in Hunza, -7 in Quetta, -6 in Gilgit, -5 in Dalbandin, and -4 each in Darosh, Dir, Malamjabba and Rawlakot.