PESHAWAR: Prevailing foggy conditions disrupted flight operations at Bacha Khan International Airport and resulted in cancellation of 13 international and domestic flights and closure of the Peshawar-Islamabad and Swat motorways on Thursday.

On Thursday, the provincial capital and plain areas of the province continue to grapple with dense fog for the second consecutive day.

An official at the BKIAP told Dawn that a total of 13 flights including 11 international and two domestic were cancelled during the day due to dense fog. He said cancelled flights included carriers like Saudi Airlines, Emirates, Gulf, Qatar, Fly Jinnah, Serene and Pakistan International Airlines.

On the other hand, a National Highways and Motorways Police (NH&MP) official told Dawn that both Peshawar-Islamabad and Swat motorways were closed to traffic in the evening. The official said that since most of M-1 fell in the fog area, therefore, they had to shut it down to avoid traffic mishaps.

A met department official said that dense fog was likely to haunt the plain areas of the province for a few more days. He said that on Thursday, visibility in the provincial capital ranged from 50 to 100 metres.

A met department advisory stated that on Thursday night, cold weather was expected in most districts of the province with very cold and partly cloudy in upper districts. However, it said that dense fog was likely in Charsadda, Rashakai, Mardan, Nowshera, Swabi, Peshawar, Lakki Marwat, Bannu, Dera Ismail Khan and surrounding areas.

Besides, met department forecast for Friday predicted cold weather for most districts of the province with very cold and cloudy in upper districts with chances of light rain (light snowfall over hill) in Chitral, Kohistan and Malakand.

Besides, it said that dense fog was likely to persist in Charsadda, Rashakai, Mardan, Nowshera, Swabi, Peshawar, Laki Marwat, Bannu, D.I Khan and surrounding areas in the morning and during the night.

In Charsadda, traders pulled down their shutters even before the fall of dusk. Parts of the motorway passing through the district also remained closed, while gas outage in the chilly weather also led to spike in the price of the firewood.

The district administration continued its action against the school owners who were keeping their institutions open despite provincial government’s directives to remain closed till Jan 7 due to the extreme cold wave.

Published in Dawn, January 5th, 2024