Balochistan shivers from cold spell

Northern hilly areas to receive snowfall for another one to two months

ISLAMABAD: Temperature in parts of Balochistan dropped to freezing point on Tuesday forcing people to stay indoors. At least two people lost their lives in the province because of the chilly weather.

Quetta, Ziarat and Kalat remain the most affected cities as the temperature dropped to -12 in Kalat and Ziarat, and to -10 in Quetta.

According to officials of the meteorological department, the recent freezing wave will continue over the next few days and the weather will become more dry and cold.



The officials also confirmed that many parts of Balochistan including Quetta will also experience snowfall in the next few days.

However, low pressure of gas has been leaving people exasperated in the province, forcing them to use gas cylinders and wood to keep themselves warm.

Return of winter

After a long break, winter season has returned to several parts of the country. However, some interior regions still see no signs of cold.

Talking to The Express Tribune, officials of the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said that for the last several years Pakistan had been experiencing an unusual pattern of winter season. However, this year due to persistent dry weather, hilly areas of the country were experiencing the usual pattern of the winter season.

So far, the northern hilly areas have received an adequate amount of snowfall and will continue to do so for another one to two months.

Pakistan is already bearing the brunt of climate change due to which winter season in the country is decreasing, summer season is expanding and the spring season is vanishing. Now, winter season in Pakistan usually starts from January and continues till mid-February, however earlier it used to begin from October and would continue till the first week of March.



According to the meteorological department, the lowest temperature recorded on Tuesday in Kalat was 12°C, Skardu -07°C, Kalam -06°C, Dalbandin -05°C.

However, next week the second spell of winter rain is expected in the upper parts of the country, Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).

“Light to moderate showers and snowfall are expected in the northern areas of the country from December 11 which will continue for two to three days. These showers will further drop temperatures in these areas,” PMD chief Dr Ghulam Rasul said while speaking to The Express Tribune.

Rasul added that the fog would continue to prevail in the country for the next few months.