Chitral and Swat blanketed in snow

Hill stations receive snowfall after a month’s interval

PESHAWAR:

After an almost month-long hiatus, Chitral Upper and Lower districts in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) experienced snowfall, underscoring the region’s shifting weather patterns attributed to climate change. Similarly, Kalam in Swat, Shangla, and other mountainous districts, including Hazara Division, witnessed heavy snowfall.

According to forecasts from the Met Office and Provincial Disaster Management Authority, the snowfall is projected to persist until the 21st of this month. Areas such as Torkahu, Kahot, Kabor, Lowari Top, Madak, Kashat, Kalash valley, and the picturesque Laspur valley have been blanketed in pristine white snow. Conversely, lower-lying regions like Chitral proper and Darosh experienced nominal rainfall.

Local residents highlighted Chitral’s heavy reliance on rain for irrigation, noting a significant decrease in precipitation this year. Consequently, their wheat crops suffered from insufficient water. They also remarked on the heightened chill in the air following the onset of snow in the highlands.

Meanwhile, the district administration in Dir Upper deployed policemen to enforce the use of snow chains for vehicles traversing the Lowari Tunnel. The prices of timber surged significantly as it became the primary source of firewood due to the absence of Sui gas.

PDMA issued fresh alerts to all mountainous districts as another spell of snowfall was forecasted from the 18th of this month. A new weather system approaching the hilly districts is anticipated to bring heavy snowfall, rainfall, and high winds, according to a press statement issued on Tuesday.

Read: Murree, Galiyat on high alert in anticipation of snowfall

District authorities have been instructed to implement precautionary measures and ensure the availability of machinery to clear snow-covered roads and mitigate potential landslides. They are also tasked with disseminating weather forecasts to local residents and tourists to facilitate appropriate precautionary measures and adjustments to travel plans. Additionally, they have been urged to arrange alternative routes in anticipation of road closures due to heavy snow or landslides.

Last year PDMA, under the guidance of the relief, rehabilitation and settlement department, had formulated the Winter Contingency Plan for 2023-24 in order to cope with various natural hazards in the winter season.

The plan encompassed strategies to manage hazards such as extreme low temperatures, fog, smog, snowfall, rainfall, landslides, flash floods and seismic activities in the mountainous north and west.

In a press statement, PDMA Director General Muhammad Qaisar Khan stated that the Winter Contingency Plan 2023-24 had been initiated in October 2023 and involved key stakeholders such as the federal government, provincial line departments, the district administration, UNDP GLOF-II and other development partners

The statement further said digital tools for data collection had been developed and shared, including information on district, sector-specific hazards, vulnerability profiles, hazard impacts, damages, compensation details, resource mapping, need assessment, and coordination efforts.

The Winter Contingency Plan 2023-24 offers a comprehensive overview of the winter hazard profiles for each district in the province. It includes details on the composite risk score for every district based on various hazards and outlines corresponding risks, along with an estimation of the vulnerable population in cases of emergencies.

The plan further guides districts in mapping vulnerable sites and developing contingency plans, identifying roles.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 19^th 2024.