LAHORE: The cold wave intensified in the plains of Punjab and Sindh on Sunday after thick fog blanketed Lahore and some other cities, bringing down day temperatures.

Nights have been chilly in the plains so far, but sunshine and higher temperatures provided relief after the chilly nights.

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However, there was no sunshine till noon in Lahore and adjoining cities like Kasur on Sunday as thick fog persisted into early afternoon. Hence Lahore’s maximum temperature could rise to just 16.3 degrees Celsius on Sunday as against 22 Celsius the previous day.

Authorities at Lahore airport said fog was developing over the runway and the flight operations would be suspended if visibility deteriorated late in the night.

The maximum temperature in Kasur was 16.8 Celsius on Sunday while it hovered around 22 Celsius the previous day.

The Met department said fog had reduced visibility to 50 metres in Lahore and Kasur.

The motorway was closed from Lahore to Kot Momin at 8.20am due to the poor visibility. It was reopened at around 11am.

The motorway was closed to all kind of traffic from Peshawar to Rashkai. The National Highway remained blanketed with thick fog from Lahore to Pattoki. A portion from Khanewal to Multan too remained shrouded in fog.

The fog reduced visibility to 100 metres in Narowal, 300 metres in Dera Ismail Khan, 400 metres in Faisalabad, 500 metres in Joharabad, Sukkur, Khanewal, Multan, Moenjodero, Dadu and Bahawalpur, 700 metres in Mangla, 800 metres in Sialkot and Sahiwal and 900 metres in Kot Addu.

The maximum temperature in Multan was recorded at 19.7 degrees Celsius, in Okara at 18.5, in Mianwali and Kot Addu at 22, in Jhelum at 18.8, in Gujran­­wala at 18, in Gujrat at 19 and in Jhang at 22.

Skardu was the coldest place in the country with a minimum temperature of 11 degrees below Celsius. It was followed by Gupis at -7, Astore, Kalam and Gilgit -6, Hunza -5, Quetta and Rawalakot -4 and Bagrote, Chitral, Dir and Drosh -3.

The Met department said chilly and foggy conditions would continue to persist in Punjab’s plains over the next few days.

The weather will remain mainly cold and dry in most parts of the country and very cold in the northern regions.

Foggy conditions are likely to persist in the plains of Punjab, upper Sindh and Peshawar division. Frost has also been forecast for upper parts of the country.

Published in Dawn, December 24th, 2018