Islamabad:
Dense fog engulfed major cities in Pakistan’s Punjab province and some areas of Sindh on Thursday, disrupting railway, road and air traffic and severely affecting everyday life.
The travellers remain worse affected since last two days as blanket of fog not only affected road travel but has also caused delays in the schedules of trains and flights.
At least 16 people died and another 40 were injured in several car, bus and bike accidents in Punjab. In yet another incident of road accident due to low visibility, as many as seven cars crashed into each other on Pindi Bhattian Expressway in the early hours of a foggy Wednesday.
Dozens of domestic and international flights were disrupted as heavy fog blanketed large parts of Punjab for the second consecutive day on Thursday. Several other flights were re-routed due to foggy conditions as Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) did not allow flight operation due to low visibility, particularly at Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International airport.
At least 23 flights were delayed while three were cancelled which included Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Air Blue, Shaheen Air, Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways, Turkish Airlines and Saudi Airlines. Some flights from Saudi Arabia to Lahore were forced to land in Karachi.
“The weather conditions are beyond the control of the airline. PIA has to adjust the timings of its flights due to such weather conditions, as the airline cannot operate flights with poor visibility and also keeping in view the safety requirements” a spokesman from Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) said.
PIA also posted messages on social media requesting passengers to call helplines for flight updates before travelling.
Various cities of Punjab remained under dense blanket of fog on Thursday morning which drastically reduced visibility on the roads in the wee hours in Toba Tek Singh and other cities.
According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) forecast, moderate fog was observed on Lahore-Islamabad M2 and Pindi Bhattian-Faisalabad M3 Motorways, especially between Lahore and Pindi Bhattian (M2-3) and Pindi Bhattian and Faisalabad (M3-1). Moderate/shallow fog was observed on M2 Motorway from Pindi Bhattian and Salt Range, while mist was being witnessed on M2 Motorway between Salt Range and Islamabad. PMD forecast showed mist on Peshawar-Islamabad M1 Motorway, especially in the areas between Peshawar and Swabi, Swabi and Islamabad.
The Motorway police have urged drivers to be cautious, drive slowly and switch on fog lights. People are also advised to avoid unnecessary travelling.
In Sindh, traffic was hampered from Kharian in Punjab to Sukkur in Sindh, covering cities like Okara, Mian Channu, Multan, Bahawalpur and Rahim Yar Khan.
According to the Pakistan Met office, dense foggy conditions are likely to prevail over plain areas of Punjab and Upper Sindh during the next 24 hours.
Over the next 24 hours, rain-thunderstorm with snowfall over the hills is expected at scattered places in Malakand, Hazara divisions and at isolated places in Peshawar, Mardan, Kohat, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Quetta, Zhob divisions, Islamabad, FATA, Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir.
Thursday’s lowest minimum temperatures were recorded at Skardu -10°C, Astore -9°C, Gilgit, Hunza -07°C, Quetta, Gupis -08°C, Kalam, Bagrote, Ziarat, Dir -05°C, Lower Dir, Parachinar, Rawalakot, Bunji, Drosh -02°C, Risalpur, Mirkhani, Pattan, Dalbandin -01°C.
