Schools in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab have decided to extend winter vacations in the face of a cold wave that is likely to grip most parts of the country from Wednesday onward with a sharp drop in temperatures during the night.

The increase in cold is a direct affect of a rain spell ending tomorrow, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has confirmed.

Schools in Peshawar are going to remain shut till January 12, a notification of the Elementary And Secondary Education Department said. On the other hand, the The Punjab School Education department had also said yesterday that schools will remain shut till January 12. All activities at schools in both provinces will resume on January 13.

Talking to APP, PMD Director Zaheer Ahmad Babar said that the weather will remain dry after Wednesday and a cold wave will persist in the most parts of the country during the next few days.

Babar further added that foggy conditions will engulf the plains of Punjab and Sindh including Bahawalpur, Sukkur and Multan during the next few days.

According to the daily forecast, the Met office has indicated chances of rain with snow fall over mountains in remote parts of upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, upper Punjab, Islamabad, Gilgit Baltistan and Kashmir during the next 24 hours.

Strong westerly winds have been affecting most upper and central parts of the country and are likely to persist in the upper parts during next 24 hours.

Rain levels throughout the country

During the past 24 hours, rainfall recorded in various areas of Punjab stood at 20 millimetre in Murree, 14mm in Sialkot, 12mm in Kasur and Bahawalnagar, 10mm in Islamabad, 6mm in Lahore, 9mm in Okara and Sahiwal, 8mm in Faisalabad, Narowal, Khanewal, 7mm in Sargodha and Hafizabad, 6mm in Noorpur Thal, Chakwal, Jhang, Toba Tek Singh, 5mm in Mandi Baho Din, Gujranwala, Attock, Kot Addu, 5mm in Bahawalpur, 4mm in Gujrat, Bhakkar, Multan, Mangla, 4mm in Dera Ghazi Khan, 3mm in Rawalpindi, Rahim Yar Khan, Khanpur, Jhelum and 2mm in Layyah.

Rainfall recorded in Balochistan stood at 30mm in Turbat, 27mm in Kalat, 19mm in Khuzdar and Pasni, 18mm in Dalbandin, 15mm in Ziarat, 15mm in Quetta, 11mm in Nokkundi and Panjgur, 10mm in Pishin, 9mm in Sibbi, 5mm in Barkhan, 2mm in Lasbella and Gawadar.

In Kashmir, 29mm of rain fell in Muzaffarabad, 17mm in Garhi dupatta, Kotli and Rawalakot.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa saw 26mm in Balakot, 23mm in Malamjabba, 22mm in Dir, 20mm in Pattan, 15mm in Kalam, 15mm in Kakul, 10mm in Parachinar, 8mm in Drosh, 7mm in Chitral, 6mm in Tahktbai, 4mm in Cherat, Bannu and Mirkhani and 2mm in Peshawar.

In Gilgit-Baltistan, rainfall was recorded at 10 millimetres in Skardu and 3mm in Bagrot.

In Sindh, rainfall in various areas amounted to two mm in Dadu, Padidan, Larkana, Shaheed Banazirabad and one mm Sukkur, Rohri and Jaccobabad.

Snowfall recorded during the period in Murree stood at 12 inches, Malam Jabba 10 inches, Kalam 8 inches, Skardu 6 inches, Astore 4 inches, Chitral 3 inches, Parachinar, Dir, Zhob 2 inches, Bagrot, Rawalakot, Drosh and 1 inch in Hunza.

The lowest minimum temperatures during the period were recorded in Gupis, Skardu, Bagrot at -08 C, Malamjabba, Parachinar -07 C, Astore -06 C, Kalam -05 C, Hunza and Murree -04 C.