Cold wave breaks 25-year-old record in Skardu

Lahore: The 25-year-old record on Sunday has been broken in Skardu as the cold wave continues to grip various parts of Pakistan.

According to the weather office Skardu remained the coldest place in Pakistan with record minus 21°C.

According to details, the small canals and ponds in Skardu have been frozen due to severe low temperature while the intermittent snowfall has also blocked the main connecting roads.

On the other hand, fog has been reported in most plain areas of Punjab and upper Sindh while in few districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Smooth flow of road, rail and air traffic has been disrupted due to reduced visibility caused by fog.

Dense fog is prevailing in Islamabad, most plain areas of Punjab and upper Sindh and in a few districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan Meteorological Department has said in its weather report on Sunday.

The National Highways and Motorway police have advised commuters to avoid unnecessary travel and use Humsafar mobile app for quick information about major routes.

Weather remained cold and dry elsewhere in the country while very cold in upper areas, the met office report said.

In Punjab dense fog has made the driving very difficult as several sections of the motorway were closed for traffic due to poor visibility. Lahore, Gujranawala, Gujrat, Narowal, Sargodha, Layyah, Bhakar, Khusab, Mianwali, Mandi Bahauddin, Sialkot, T.T Singh, Hafizabad, Jhang, Faisalabad, Okara, Sahiwal, Multan, Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar, D.G Khan and Rajanpur were engulfed by the fog in the night and morning.

In upper Sindh moderate to dense fog prevailed in Sukkur, Larkana, Rohri, Padidan and Jacobabad during morning and night hours. Cold and dry weather is reported elsewhere in the province.

The foggy weather has also caused delays in train and flight schedules across the country.

According to the weather office today’s lowest minimum temperatures in the country were recorded at Skardu with record minus 21°C, Gupis, Bagrote minus 12°C, Astore minus 11°Celsius, Gilgit minus 07°C, Kalam and Kalat minus 05°Celsius.