LAHORE: Friday was the coldest day of the season in Lahore and many other cities as dense fog continued to persist in the plains of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and upper Sindh, further dipping the day maximum temperatures.

The maximum temperature in Lahore was 9.5 degrees Celsius and the minimum 4.3 degrees Celsius in contrast to Murree’s 12.3 and 3.5 degrees Celsius. Fog that developed over the city on Thursday night continued to persist throughout the day, creating icy weather conditions.

The Met office reported dense fog in Bahawalnagar, Dera Ghazi Khan, Jhang, Jhelum, Khanpur, Mandi Bahauddin, Okara, Rawalpindi, Sahiwal and Sialkot. Lahore, Bahawalnagar and Mandi Bahauddin remained fog bound the entire day.

The maximum temperature in Gujrat was 9.5 degrees Celsius, in Sialkot 9.2, Noorpur Thal and Bhakkar 9. The little difference between their maximum and minimum temperatures generated chilly conditions.

Astore was the coldest town in the country with -11 degrees Celsius minimum temperature. It was followed by Gupis -6 degrees Celsius, Kalat and Gilgit -5 and Quetta and Hunza -4.

The Met office forecast very cold and dry weather in Lahore in the next 24 hours with dense fog in the morning.

It expects very cold and dry weather over most parts of the country with fog over plain areas of Punjab (including Islamabad), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and upper Sindh. Isolated frost may be observed over Fata, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after midnight.

The Met office indicates disruption of flight schedule at Lahore, Sialkot and Faisalabad airports during the night and on Saturday morning because of expected dense fog there. Motorway from Pindi Bhattian to Lahore and Faisalabad and from Peshawar to Burhan, and the National Highway from Rawalpindi to Rahim Yar Khan will also remain fog bound.

Published in Dawn December 20th , 2014