Dense fog blankets parts of Karachi, causes flights disruption
KARACHI: A dense fog blanketed the metropolis on Sunday morning, disrupting flight operations at Karachi airport as ground visibility was reduced to a mere 200 metres.
The Met Office said that the hazy conditions would continue on Monday (today) morning.
Airport authorities said that at least six international flights could not land at the airport in the morning due to foggy conditions.
The aircraft were diverted to alternative airports.
Met Office says hazy conditions, high humidity to persist today; six flights bound for Karachi diverted to Muscat and Islamabad
Motorists using Superhighway and people living in Surjani Town, Gulistan-i-Jauhar, I.I. Chundrigar Road, Clifton and Defence experienced thick fog in their localities.
In Clifton, a motorcyclist was killed in a traffic accident.
South DIG Syed Asad Raza told Dawn that the motorbike of Mohammed Abdul Rafay slipped on the Clifton Bridge, causing his death.
He attributed fog / smog and slippery roads due to high level of humidity as probable causes of the accident.
Cold wave from tomorrow
Chief Meteorologist Ameer Hyder Laghari told Dawn the foggy weather would continue on Monday.
He explained that for the first time, northern parts of the country have witnessed a prolonged monsoon due to which humidity was increased, raising temperature and moisture that has adversely affected visibility.
The chief meteorologist said that ground visibility was reported at 200 metres on Sunday. However, weather became normal after four-five hours.
He said the foggy conditions will be over by Monday afternoon as winds from Siberia have engulfed Balochistan due to which Karachi will experience a significant drop in temperature from Tuesday (tomorrow).
Flight disruptions
A spokesperson for the Pakistan Airports Authority said in a statement that six international flights scheduled to land at Karachi airport had to be diverted due to fog.
The statement said that the diversion was a usual safety measure taken due to reduced visibility.
It added that Pegasus Airlines, Etihad Airways, Flyadeal and Gulf Air flights had been diverted to Muscat.
Moreover, a Pakistan International Airlines flight that had departed from Madina, too, had to be diverted to Muscat. Similarly, a FlyJinnah flight arriving from Jeddah was diverted to Islamabad.
‘Very unhealthy air quality’
Meanwhile, updates on air quality monitoring platform IQAir around 11:30am showed that the air quality was “very unhealthy” in the city, with an AQI reading of 282.
The AQI is a measure of the concentration of various pollutants in the air, such as fine particulate matter (PM2.5), coarse particulate matter (PM10) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and ozone (O3). Any IQAir AQI ranking above 150 is considered “unhealthy” and above 200 is considered “very unhealthy”.
However, the air quality improved in the evening, and by 9pm Karachi was ranked 15th on the list of the world’s top10 “most polluted” cities with an AQI reading of 119.
The Met Office said in Karachi division, the maximum temperature will range between 27 and 29ºC, with 95 per cent humidity in the morning which will decrease to 45-55pc by evening.
It said while fog may also develop in Sukkur, Rohri, Shikarpur, Kashmore, Mohenjo-Daro and their surroundings during morning or night hours, mainly cold and dry weather is likely to prevail in the province on Monday (today).
Published in Dawn, December 22nd, 2025