LAHORE, Dec 30: Thick fog continued to blanket plains of the country, including Lahore, on Sunday, further intensifying the persisting cold wave.

It was the coldest day of the winter in Lahore as the minimum temperature last night dropped to mere 1 degree Celsius. The maximum temperature too was 10 degrees C as fog persisted throughout the day.

The fog-bound Lahore airport remained closed during the early hours of the day because of poor visibility. The motorway portion from Pindi Bhattian to Lahore was also closed to avoid accidents.

The Met office said the thick fog hung over Okara, Faisalabad, Sahiwal, Rawalpindi, Bahawalnagar, Bahawalpur and Mandi Bahauddin.

Upper parts of the country received light rain and snowfall. The lowest minimum temperature was recorded in Kalat which was -12 degrees C. It was -11 each in Kalam and Parachinar, -10 in Quetta, -5 in Murree, -4 in Hunza and -3 in Skardu.

The Met office forecast foggy and misty weather in the plains of the country in the next 24 hours.