KAGHAN: Rescue workers busy removing snow from a road after heavy snowfall on Monday. Temperatures fell below the freezing point after a fresh spell of rain and snowfall in the region. With the sudden surge in cold, prices of gas cylinders and firewood registered a rapid hike in local markets. Parents have urged the education department not to reopen schools before February.—PPI
Up to two feet of snow has been predicted in the Quetta, Ziarat, Qila Abdullah and Pishin districts in the coming days.
Widespread rain also occurred in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and isolated areas in upper Sindh, Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.
The rain across central and southern Punjab dispersed fog on the motorways and highways.
Rain with snow over the hills is expected in scattered places in the Rawalpindi, Chakwal, Attock, Jhelum, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Hafizabad, Mandi Bahauddin, Narowal, Sialkot, Lahore, Sahiwal, Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar and Rahimyar Khan districts up to Wednesday.
The highest rainfall in KP was recorded at 26mm in Parachinar, followed by 25mm in Malam Jabba and 13mm in Saidu Sharif. In Punjab, Bahawalpur received 22mm of rain.
Malam Jabba also received 10 inches of snowfall, followed by five inches in Parachinar and Kalam. The lowest temperatures recorded were -13°C in Skardu, -9°C in Astore, -8°C in Kalam and -5°C in Rawalakot.
Published in Dawn, January 7th, 2020