Dense fog engulfs Punjab plains as cold grips country

Dense fog was engulfing Lahore and other plains of Punjab on Friday as the cold wave has further intensified in the upper parts of the country, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

The Lahore-Khanewal Motorway M3 and Pindi Bharrian-Shamkot Motorway M4 sections have been closed as the visibility was very low due to dense fog.

Dense fog has also disrupted traffic at the National Highway near Multan, Sahiwal, Harapa, Pattoke, Habibabad, Renala Khurd, Gaimber, Sahiwal, Harapa as visibility was very low.

The flight operations at airports have also disrupted whereas the trains schedule was also affected due to the dense fog. 

The Motorway police have advised the drivers to switch on fog lights while driving at very slow speed as the visibility was dropped to zero due to dense fog. The Motorway police have also requested the people to stay home and avoid unnecessary travelling.

The Met Office has predicted that the temperature in the city will remain 19C on the maximum side while 5C on the minimum side on Friday, while breeze will blow at the speed of 3 kilometres per hour.

Similarly, it has forecasted that humidity in the city will remain 97 per cent. The Air Quality Index on Friday morning was recorded at 250.  

Weathermen have also predicted fog in Islamabad and its surrounding areas early in the morning while dense fog in Rawalpindi, Khushab, Lahore, Jhelum, Gujranwala, Noorpur Thal, Sargodha, Faisalabad, Attock, Chakwal, Sialkot, Narowal, Gujrat, Toba Tek Singh and Jauharabad.   

Similarly, dense fog has also been predicted for Jhang, Okara, Multan, Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar, Mianwali, D.G Khan, Khanewal, Sahiwal and Rahim Yar Khan.   

For Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Met Office has predicted cold and dry weather while bitterly cold for northern areas of the country.  It has predicted fog for Dera Ismael Khan and its suburbs.

Likewise, the weather is expected to remain cold and dry in most parts of Sindh while fog in Sukkur and Larkana and their surroundings.  

As far as Balochistan is concerned, the weather department has forecast dry and very cold weather for most parts of the province.

The weather is expected to remain extremely cold and partly cloudy in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.