ISLAMABAD: Residents of the federal capital woke up to the sight of the Margalla Hills capped with snow, while the capital of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) also received its first snowfall in a decade.

With around six feet of snow recorded on some of the hills, tourists and sightseers began flocking to hill stations, causing problems for workers trying to clear the snow from the roads.

Though the Margalla Hills had received what the Met Office dubbed ‘traces’ of snow around five years ago, the hills appeared to be blanketed in snow on Thursday.

Sightseers flock to hill stations, more snow forecast for Murree over weekend

Pictures of the snow-topped hills were doing the rounds on social media throughout the day and some people even climbed up the hills to see the snowfall for themselves.

Met Office spokesperson Dr Mohammad Hanif told Dawn: “This time, we had between two and six inches of snowfall between Pir Sohawa and the western end of the Margallas near Golra”.

The last time the hills were covered in snow was in 2004. Before that, more than four inches of snow last fell on the hills in 1994.

CDA’s Sanaullah Aman told Dawn the snow on the Margalla Hills was expected to help the growth of pine trees and other green life that thrives in cold weather.

The capital of AJK also received its first snowfall in almost a decade, and residents of the city could be seen enjoying the weather on their rooftops and having snow fights.

The weather in Muzaffarabad over the next two days is expected to be sunny with clouds. However, more rain and snow is forecast for Sunday.

Though clear skies are expected for the rest of the week, thanks to low temperatures after sunset on Thursday and cold winds from the north, the snow is not expected to melt and will remain on the hills well into Friday.

The minimum temperature in Islamabad on Thursday night was expected to drop down to two degrees Celcius, and the minimum temperature recorded in Murree the same night was minus four.

Islamabad also received the second highest quantity of rainfall in the country during the day at 65mm, while 98mm rain was recorded in Dir. Malamjabba and Babusar Top saw the heaviest snowfall, with three feet, while the Galiyat, Hazara, Kaghan and Naran received two feet of snow each.

The Met Office has also warned that rain may trigger land slides in parts of Malakand, Hazara, AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan on Thursday and Friday.

Murree

Meanwhile, tourists and cold weather revellers have been flocking to Murree where up to two and a half feet of snow has been recorded, causing traffic jams with most of the link roads closed from morning onwards on Thursday.

Traffic remained blocked for four hours from Company Bagh to Sunny Bank. The road from Murree to the Galiyat was also blocked.

A throng of tourists posed problems for the Highway Department in clearing snow which fell from Wednesday morning to midday Thursday. If snow falls at night, there is time for the Highway Department to clear the roads before the rush of traffic starts.

The Murree Traffic Police had to help tourists caught in the snow on various roads and the Murree Town Administration (TMA) established a control room which will work around the clock.

The Met Office has predicted more snowfall in Murree all through Friday night, which is likely to attract more tourists to hill stations.

Published in Dawn, February 12th, 2016