First winter rain in Quetta, dense fog affecting roads, visibility in Punjab

KARACHI: Ending a long dry spell, Quetta, also the provincial capital of Balochistan and the adjoining areas including Chaman received first winter rain on Saturday.

The temperature dropped in the city; increasing chances that cool winter breeze would now strike the coastal city of Karachi in Sindh.

The Met Office forecasted winter rains in the federal capital, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) and upper Punjab with snowfall on the mountains regions of Gilgit and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) from Saturday to Monday.

Meanwhile, several cities in the provinces of Punjab and KP remained covered in a dense and freezing fog even today, disrupting normal life activities in major cities.

At least three people were killed in a fog-related accident in Lodhran district, Punjab.

In both the provinces, fog badly disturbed air and land travel, with dozens of flights being cancelled, delayed or diverted to other cities and motorways being closed.

The Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore remained closed for another day while Multan Airport also had to make changes in its international flight schedules due to fog.

Load-shedding by Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) in Punjab worsened the situation in Bahawalpur, Hasilpur, Ahmedpur East, Uch Sharif, Rangpur and other areas.

Dense fog affected the national highways in Mian Channu, Khanewal, Multan and Bahawalpur as visibility for several hours during the day remained at a poor level.

The Motorway M-II stretched between Lahore and Sheikhupura, and another between Faisalabad and Pindi Bhattian were closed for all kinds of traffic after it became almost impossible for people to drive in foggy conditions.

In Peshawar too, flight operations saw changes at the Bacha Khan International Airport after fog surrounded the provincial capital of KP.