Thick smog persists in Punjab, KP, disrupts traffic on motorway

LAHORE: Heavy smog continued to envelop parts of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Sunday, affecting life and vehicular traffic.

A spokesperson for the motorway police said different sections of motorway have closed owing to poor visibility caused by dense smog and fog. Motorway M1 from Peshawar to Swabi, M2 from Kot Momin to Faisalabad and Islamabad, M3 from Pindi Bhattian to Faisalabad, M4 from Faisalabad to Gojra have been closed for all kinds of traffic.

A day earlier, at least seven flights of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) were cancelled and five others were rerouted owing to foggy conditions.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has predicted rain in the upper and central parts of the country, which is likely to wash away dense smog disrupting all kinds of traffic and causing health issues to people of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

“A rain bearing system system is expected to enter Pakistan from Sunday (night) and is likely to grip upper and central parts of the country on Monday and Tuesday,” the Met department said in a statement.

Rains in the country are expected to provide a relief from the thick smog and haze that have almost paralyzed the normal life in various cities of Punjab.

The Met department has also forecasted rain/thunderstorm at scattered places of Balochistan (Quetta, Kalat, Sibbi, Naseerabad, Zhob and Makran divisions), while at isolated places in Sindh on Sunday (night) and Monday.

So far, at least five people have been killed and as many as 40 others injured in smog-related accidents in past one week.