LAHORE: Two rain spells next week are going to end the dense fog which on Friday further lowered the minimum temperatures in the plain areas and caused a road accident in Okara.

The minimum temperature in Lahore, Bhakkar and Sialkot dropped to zero degrees Celsius last night. These were the season’s lowest minimum temperatures of these cities.

According to the officials, many casualties took place as a result of a pile-up at bypass in Okara last night. They said a car had hit a truck which had stopped suddenly on the highway due to low visibility in fog. A truck and other vehicles which were following also rammed into the car and the truck.

The Met Office reported the dense fog blanketed more cities in the plains of Punjab and Sindh, badly affecting the movement of road and rail traffic in the country.

The motorway police said the motorway remained closed from Khanewal to Multan, Lahore to Kot Momin, Pindi Bhattian to Faisalabad and Gojra and Peshawar to Rashkai due to poor visibility caused by thick fog during most parts of last night and on Friday morning.

Two rain spells next week

The national highway and GT Road too remained blanketed by thick fog, disrupting vehicular traffic from Peshawar to Sindh. Vehicles of all kind moved at a very slow speed.

The Met department said the fog reduced visibility to 10 metres in Narowal, 30 in Lahore, Kot Addu and Layyah, 50 in Hafizabad, 100 in Gujranwala, 200 in Faisalabad, Bhakkar, Bahawalpur and Jhang, 300 in Khanewal, 500 in Jhelum, Kasur, Multan, Okara and Sukkur, 600 in Sialkot and Sargodha and 800 in Rohri, Mandi Bahaudidn, and Dera Ismail Khan.

Minimum temperature dropped to -2 degrees C in Kamra, -3.5 in Murree, 1 in Chakwal, 1.1 in Jhelum, 1.2 in Jhang, 1.5 in Layyah and Sargodha.

Major stations in the upper parts of the country recorded sub-zero temperatures. Skardu recorded -14 degrees C, Astore -10, Gupis -8, Kalam, Gilgit, Quetta, Kalat, Hunza -7, Bagrote, Rawalakot, Dir -5, Malamjabba, Murree -4, Dalbandin, Lower Dir, Kakul, Drosh -3, Balakot, Chillas, Mirkhani, Bunji -2 and Saidu Sharif, Parachinar, Garhi Dupatta, Islamabad, Narowal and Muzaffarabad -1.

Meanwhile, the Met department says a shallow westerly wave is likely to enter western parts of the country on Monday evening, gripping upper parts of the country in cold on Tuesday. The system would be followed by another westerly wave on Friday.

Under the influence of these weather systems, rain with snowfall over the hills is expected at scattered places in Quetta, Zhob, Kohat, Malakand, Hazara divisions, Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir, while light rain is also expected at isolated places in Peshawar, Mardan, Bannu, Dera Ismail Khan, Sargodha, Gujranwala, Lahore, Rawalpindi divisions and Islamabad on Tuesday and Wednesday.

More rain with snowfall over the hills is expected at scattered places in Malakand, Hazara and Rawalpindi divisions, Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir, while at isolated places in Peshawar, Kohat, Mardan, Bannu, Dera Ismail Khan, Sargodha, Faisalabad, Gujranwala and Lahore divisions from Friday to Sunday. During this time fog will subside. But it will continue to grip the plains of Punjab, upper Sindh and Peshawar division during morning/night hours in the next three days till it rains next week, keeping weather very cold in most parts of the country.

Published in Dawn, December 29th, 2018