Heavy snowfall disconnects Skardu from other parts of country

SKARDU: Heavy snowfall in Skardu has disconnected the city from the rest of the country on Tuesday, ARY News reported.

Sources said that flight operations at Skardu airport have been halted completely as a thick layer of snow has covered the runway.

Whereas road traffic has also been suspended after landslides and avalanches blocked most of the roads leading to Skardu.

Meanwhile, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has directed the concerned authorities to remove snow from the runway and adjourning areas of Skardu airport on war-footing.

Read More: Skardu shivers at -18°C as cold wave continues to grip most country

Earlier on January 1, cold wave had continued to grip most parts of the country with icy winds sweeping across Pakistan.

According to Met officials, continental air was prevailing over most parts of the country.

A shallow westerly wave was likely to affect western and upper parts of the country from Wednesday, they had said.

Light rain with thunderstorm and snowfall over mountains was expected at isolated places in Northwest Balochistan, upper hilly areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Kashmir, and Gilgit Baltistan.

Dense fog was likely to prevail in most plain areas of Punjab and upper Sindh while in few plain areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during the morning and night hours.