LAHORE, Dec 24: Thick fog blanketed cities in the central and northern Punjab, including Lahore, and Azad Kashmir on Friday, increasing intensity of cold.

In Lahore, fog reduced visibility to zero during the early hours of Monday, disrupting air and road traffic. Fog cleared after 11am but it again started developing early Friday night.

The maximum temperature was 17.5 degrees C and the minimum 7.7 C but fog added to chill in the air because it continued to block sun during most part of the day. According to a meteorologist official, visibility was reduced to zero in Faisalabad and adjoining towns, 20 meters in Rawalpindi, Islamabad and Muzaffarabad. Fog was also covering Indian Punjab and cities in the UP.

He said fog would persist during the next few days. Meanwhile, the local Met office reported light rain in Chitral, Drosh, Kakul and Muzaffarabad and light snowfall in Kalam. It has predicted more fog in Lahore and many other cities in Punjab during the next 24 hours.