PESHAWAR: A man was killed in a road accident resulting from low visibility in Swabi district as dense cloud of fog enveloped the provincial capital and large parts of plain areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa throughout the day on Wednesday.

Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) in an advisory, issued to district administrations, said that plain areas of the province were likely to grapple with dense fog during the coming few days.

It said that fog might cause disruption of air traffic, closure of motorways and suspension of railways while temperature was also likely to drop to 3 to 5 Celsius. It advised travellers to remain cautious and avoid unnecessary travel in foggy conditions. Besides, it added, tourists should be informed about weather forecast.

In Swabi district, a tractor trolley fell into the Gohati Canal in Mansuri village due to low visibility during thick fog on Wednesday. Rescue 1122 personnel rushed to the site of occurrence and pulled out the badly wounded drive from the canal.

PDMA advises people to avoid unnecessary travel as situation will remain the same for few days

They provided first aid to him on the spot and then shifted him to hospital where he was pronounced dead by doctors. The deceased was identified as Zubair Khan.

A spokesperson for National Highways and Motorway Police told Dawn that Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway was closed to traffic due to dense fog since Wednesday evening. Similarly, he said, Beat-I of Swat Expressway from Karnal Sher Khan Interchange to Katlang was also closed due to dense fog.

Jawad Ahamad, 19, a resident of Dir Lower, who was travelling to Peshawar, said that the fog was so dense on the motorway that he was unable to proceed further. He said that the fog forced him to exit M-1 at Ismilia toll plaza in Swabi district.

An official of meteorological department told Dawn that the foggy condition would likely to continue for three to four more days in the provincial capital and other plain areas of the province. He said that during the peak hours, visibility was less than a kilometre in the provincial capital.

However, the official said that since there was temperature variance in major cities, t the foggy situation was a less intense than it was in the suburbs. He said that the plain areas of the province including Peshawar, Mardan, Nowshera, Swabi, Charsadda, Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan were facing foggy conditions.

He said that drop in the temperature and calmer air together with presence of moisture resulted into foggy conditions. “Fog is a natural weather condition in such a situation. The foggy condition is result of drop in temperature, however, at the same it also results into further drop in mercury,” said the official.

He said that cloudy weather was expected on January 7 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He added that a light rain would clear the weather.

An official at Bacha Khan International Airport Peshawar told Dawn that flight operation at the airport continued without any hiccups. He added that all the flights landed and departed as per schedule.

In Charsadda, thick fog has engulfed the entire district for the last four days. It has paralysed routine life as number of road accidents has increased manifold. The government employees face problems in reaching their places of duty. Traders are the worst sufferers as there is lack of customers in bazaars and markets.

Most of the people prefer to remain indoors due to severe cold. People suffer from multiple cold-related diseases. Locals said that thick fog coupled with dust and severe cold affected their daily routine and businesses. Farmers also face difficulties in making gur (jaggery) and cultivating wheat and other crops.

Similarly, heavy fog and biting cold engulfed Kohat district, reducing visibility.

On the other hand, Orakzai district, a few miles away from Kohat, also got snowfall. The outages of gas and electricity also made things worse as people could not heat their rooms, water in geysers, or cook meals. The snowfall was received by the upper and central Orakzai district regions including, Mamozai, Ali Khel, Shiekhan, and Sampogh, bringing cold winds into Kohat.

Met department forecast for the Wednesday night and Thursday predicated cold and dry weather for most of the districts with very cold in upper parts of the province. “Dense Fog is likely in Charsadda, Rashakai, Mardan, Nowshera, Swabi, Peshawar, Laki Marwat, Bannu, Dera Ismail Khan and surrounding areas,” said the advisory.

Published in Dawn, January 4th, 2024