ISLAMABAD: People should be careful while travelling to Pir Sohawa to see the snowfall, Deputy Commissioner Hamza Shafqaat said on Sunday.

In a post on Twitter, the deputy commissioner said: “Yes. It’s confirmed. There is snow on margalla hills. Be careful on the roads. Have a blessed Sunday.”

Mr Shafqaat told Dawn that a number of people rushed to the mountains upon hearing about the weather, which was why he advised them to be careful as roads can be slippery, increasing the risk of accidents.

“The city even received snow last year, which means it is expected against this or the next year. The temperature has dropped in Islamabad, and the meteorological office also advised that the weather would remain cold and dry in the coming days,” he said.

However Mohammad Ayaz, a meteorologist with the Pakistan Meteorological Department, said he was not in a position to confirm the amount of snowfall Pir Sohawa received.

“We have an observatory in Murree but we do not have any observatory in Pir Sohawa, so we usually get reports about snowfall in Pir Sohawa from the media,” he said.

Published in Dawn, January 14th, 2019