LAHORE – Blanketed by dense fog, Lahore and the plains of Pakistan remained in the grip of a cold wave on Saturday with experts predicting the prevailing harsh weather conditions to persist during the weekend.

Leh remained the coldest place in the country where the mercury dropped 09 degrees Celsius below freezing.
In Lahore, minimum temperature was recorded at 09 C.
Relative humidity in the evening was recorded at 83 per cent.

Fog disturbed normal routine life by disrupting road, rail and air traffic.

Fog update for Motorways, National Highway

Dense fog forced the closure of portions of Motorways (Peshawar-Swabi, Swabi-Islamabad, Islamabad-Kallar Kahar, Kallar Kahar-Pindi Bhattian, Pindi Bhattian-Lahore, Pindi Bhattian-Faisalabad, Lahore-Abdul Hakim, Sialkot-Lahore, Faisalabad-Multan and Multan-Sukkur).

Less visibility also affected normal vehicular movement on the National Highway.
It also disrupted the schedule of international and domestic flights and passenger trains.

As per the synoptic situation, continental air prevails over most parts of Pakistan.

A shallow westerly wave prevails over northern parts of the country.

Under these conditions, mainly cold and dry weather is expected in Lahore and most parts of the country on Saturday night and Sunday.

During the period, extreme cold weather is likely in the upper parts and northern Balochistan.
Fog/smog will continue to prevail in the plains of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and upper Sindh.

Fog update for Punjab

Dense fog/smog is likely to persist in Bahawalpur, Sahiwal, Okara, Kasur, Lahore, Sialkot, Narowal, Gujranwala, Jhelum, Mangla, Faisalabad, Jhang, Sargodha, Mandi Bahauddin, Toba Tek Singh, Khanewal, Multan, Khanpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Hafizabad, Bhakkar, Layyah, Dera Ghazi Khan and surroundings during morning and night hours.

In Lahore, the minimum temperature will likely remain between 08-10 C on Sunday.