LAHORE: Many cities of Punjab, including Lahore, received the first winter rain on Sunday that brought the mercury down.

The provincial metropolis received traces of rain as a drizzle occurred in many areas intermittently until the afternoon.

The Met Office says that reports of a light rain were received from Lahore, Sahiwal, Vehari, Lodhran, Jhang, Pakpattan, Fort Abbas, Gojra, Arifwala, Alipur and Kabirwala. The rain will help reduce air pollution and smog while it will be beneficial for the wheat crops.

The traces of rain in Lahore reduced the maximum temperature from 19 degrees Celsius a day ago to 13 degrees Celsius on Sunday.

The chill being added to the atmosphere will bring down the minimum temperature to four degrees Celsius from the current 10 degrees Celsius in the days to come, says the local Met Office.

The air quality index in the Punjab capital remained high despite the drizzle. The ratio of pollution and the air quality index at various city points were measured to be 475 at Lahore American School, 438 at US Consulate, 437 in Model Town, 380 at Muratab Ali Road in Gulberg, 451 at Kot Lakhpat, 437 at Thokar Niaz Beg and 404 at Phase-VIII of DHA.

Air traffic at the Allama Iqbal International Airport remained suspended in the morning because of a dense layer of fog and at least 20 incoming flights were either canceled or diverted towards Islamabad and Karachi.

The flight operation was resumed in the afternoon after the weather improved following the drizzle.

Published in Dawn, December 27th, 2021