The Pakistan Meterological Department (PMD) on Friday forecasted rain-thunderstorm and snowfall in the western and northern parts of the country over the weekend.

“A shallow western disturbance is likely to approach western parts of the country on 12 December night,” it stated in its latest weather update, posted on X.

Under the influence of the weather system, light to moderate rain-thunderstorm with snowfall over the hills is expected in several areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, including “Chitral, Dir, Swat, Shangla, Kohistan, Malakand, Mansehra, Abbottabad, Haripur, Buner, Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir from December 13th to 15th, with occasional gaps,” the statement said.

“Partly cloudy conditions with light rain/storm is expected in Bajaur, Mohmand, Khyber, Orakzai, Kurram, Waziristan, Quetta, Ziarat, Zhob, Sherani, Chaman, Pishin, Qilla Abdullah, Qilla Saifullah, and Noshki on December 14th or 15.”

It also forecasted drizzle in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Potohar region and light rain or snow in Murree and Galliyat over the weekend.

Moderate or dense foggy conditions are likely to develop over plain areas of Punjab, KP and upper Sindh from night of December 12th to 16th.

The Met Office predicted that “another western disturbance is likely to influence western and upper parts of the country from December 19th”.

In October a report on Pakistan’s monsoon floods, compiled by the Intersector Coordination Group in collaboration with other partners, stated the country is likely to face one of its coldest winter this year in decades due to the La Nina climate pattern.

A La Nina occurs when sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean cool abnormally, triggering extreme weather shifts worldwide.

This could lead to colder-than-usual winter conditions, further stretching the coping mechanisms of households affected by the floods, particularly in the mountainous regions of KP and GB.