Dense fog disrupts travel across Punjab

Cold wave tightens chokehold on the province

LAHORE:

Dense fog severely disrupted road and air travel across Punjab and adjoining regions on Wednesday as cold and dry weather continued to grip most parts of the country.

According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), continental air is dominating much of the country.

Moderate to dense fog is likely to persist over Punjab, upper Sindh and the plains of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on Thursday, particularly during night and morning hours.

Light fog is expected at isolated locations in the Pothohar region during early hours.

Over the past 24 hours, cold and dry weather prevailed across most areas, while upper regions remained very cold.

Morning fog was reported at several locations in Pothohar and Kashmir, while dense fog continued to blanket plain districts of Punjab, upper Sindh and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

The PMD said a western weather system is expected to enter Pakistan on Thursday, bringing rain to upper Punjab, Murree and the Galiyat.

However, no rainfall is expected over Lahore or the plains of Punjab during the next 24 hours, where cold and dry conditions are likely to persist.

In Lahore, the minimum temperature was recorded at 3.6°C.

The city remained under the influence of cold winds, fog and intermittent cloud cover, which intensified the chill.

Prolonged fog conditions led to widespread closures on major motorways, with visibility dropping to dangerous levels overnight and into the early morning hours.

According to the Motorway Police, dense fog developed between 2:00am and 8:00am on several key routes, including the Islamabad–Lahore M-2, Peshawar–Islamabad M-1, Lahore–Abdul Hakim M-3, Sialkot–Lahore M-11, Pindi Bhattian–Faisalabad–Multan M-4, Multan–Sukkur M-5 and Mianwali–Dera Ismail Khan M-14 sections.

Traffic was suspended on M-2 from Lahore to Kot Momin, M-3 from Faizpur to Darkhana, M-4 from Pindi Bhattian to Multan, M-5 from Multan to Rohri, and M-11 from Lahore to Sambrial due to extremely low visibility.

Dense fog was also reported on national highways around Lahore, Manga Mandi, Pattoki, Okara, Sahiwal and Ahmadpur East, Mian Channu, Khanewal, Multan, Basti Malook, Lodhran, Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan and Sadiqabad, affecting the flow of traffic.

The Motorway Police urged motorists to avoid unnecessary travel and advised that daytime travel remains safer under the prevailing conditions.

The dense fog also disrupted flight operations at Lahore's Allama Iqbal International Airport, leading to cancellations and delays.

According to airport sources, five international flights were cancelled, while at least six were delayed due to poor visibility. Cancelled flights included those from Lahore to Jeddah and Dubai. Two flights from Dubai and Abu Dhabi to Lahore were also canceled.

A flight from Jeddah arrived more than four hours late, while another was delayed by over an hour.

Passengers were advised to check the latest flight status with airlines before heading to the airport, as fog-related disruptions are expected to continue until the visibility would improve.

Due to fog and icy winds, the daily life of citizens in Lahore was badly affected. According to the Meteorological Department, wind was blowing at a speed of two kilometres per hour in the city and rain is unlikely on Thursday.

In terms of air pollution, Lahore was ranked sixth in the world with the Air Quality Index recorded at 186.

Medium to heavy fog is likely to prevail in Sialkot, Narowal, Rawalpindi, Attock, Jhelum, Gujranwala, Lahore, Faisalabad, Sahiwal, Multan, Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan and several.other districts, while haze may occur in the Pothohar region in the morning.

With additional input from APP