LAHORE – Enveloped by dense fog, Lahore and the plains of Pakistan remained in the grip of a cold wave on Thursday with experts predicting the prevailing harsh weather conditions to persist during the next two days.
Freezing weather prevailed in northern areas.
Leh remained the coldest place in the country where mercury dropped 12 degrees Celsius below freezing.
In Lahore, the minimum temperature was recorded at 04 C.
Relative humidity during the evening was recorded at 68 per cent.
Dense fog/smog forced the closure 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, Multan-Sukkur and Mianwali-Dera Ismail Khan).
Dense fog/smog also disrupted traffic on the National Highway and other inter and intra-city roads.
It also disturbed flight operations and the schedule of passenger trains.
As per the synoptic situation, continental air prevails over most parts of Pakistan.
A shallow westerly wave will likely enter the southwestern parts of the country tomorrow evening/night.
Under these conditions, mainly cold and dry weather is expected in Lahore and most parts of Pakistan on Thursday night, Friday and Saturday.
Freezing and partly cloudy weather is expected in northern areas of the country.
Light to moderate rain with snowfall over mountains is likely in southwestern Balochistan.
Dense fog/smog is likely to persist in Punjab (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), plains of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and upper Sindh.
Frost is likely to prevail in the Potohar region and Kashmir during morning hours.
Frost is likely to prevail in the Potohar region and Kashmir during morning hours.
Lahore’s minimum temperature will likely remain between 04-06 C on Friday and 03-05 C on Saturday.