PESHAWAR: Both the low and high altitude areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, except Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan, received rain, while heavy hailstorm pounded parts of Kurram tribal district on Monday.

The rain which lashed Peshawar valley, Malakand and Hazara divisions brought the mercury down in the region, and local Met office forecast more rainfall during the next 24 hours.

An official said the provincial capital had received 11mm rain during the past five hours and the rain was still continuing. The rain brought temperature down to 16 degrees Celsius in Peshawar, while upper parts of the province were gripped by a sharp cold.

The Met office said rain had been reported from Chitral, Cherat, Timergara, Naran, Kaghan and the tribal districts.

Light snowfall was expected in high altitude areas of the province.

In Parachinar, reports said that severe hailstorm hit several areas of the Kurram tribal district, which caused damage to standing crops and vegetables. The hailstorm struck at a time when harvesting of rice crop was about to begin.

The most affected areas are Sada, Bagan, Agra, Parachinar town, Shalozan and Pewar. The heavy rain and hailstorm turned the weather chilly. The local residents wore warm clothes and remained indoors to avoid catching cold.

In Kohat, heavy rainfall was reported in the district and adjoining tribal belt.

The hilly resort of Samana in Hangu and upper parts of Orakzai division also received light snow.

The light rain started at noon which got heavier with the passage of time, turning the temperature cold.

The whole region was covered with black clouds and the daylight almost disappeared. The business came to a standstill as people ran for cover from the rain. The rain was continuing till filing of this report on Monday evening.

In Battagram, fresh spell of rain dropped the temperature in the district.

Rain with cold winds lashed Battagram, Ajmera, Chappargram, Peshora, Shamlai, Batamori, Kuzabanda and areas of Allai tehsil, Rashang, Bateela, Biari, Banna Khapero Soka and Chail Sar.

No loss of human life or damage to property was reported.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2018