Brace yourselves: The fog will stay for three more days

Night-time traffic affected, flights delayed; entire Potohar region engulfed by fog.

RAWALPINDI:

The dense fog in Islamabad and Rawalpindi will prevail through Saturday, affecting air, rail and road traffic, Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said on Wednesday. 

The fog, which started on Monday, has engulfed the Potohar region comprising Attock, Chakwal, Jhelum, Rawalpindi districts and Islamabad Capital Territory. The fog starts from around midnight and remains till 10am, affecting on-road visibility.

On Tuesday night, the visibility reduced to as low as 20 metres, according to PMD. The air traffic at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport (BBIA) had to be suspended, with three flights being diverted elsewhere. The air traffic was suspended between 2am and 11am on Wednesday.



The train schedule was also affected. Pakistan Railways Divisional Superintendent Syed Munawar Shah said the trains between Rawalpindi to Lahore got late on Wednesday due to the thick fog.

The fog has lowered visibility near Jhelum, Chenab and Ravi rivers for most of the day and in Rawalpindi early in the morning, he added.

However, the Rawalpindi traffic police have not yet issued an advisory for people travelling during the night. A senior official of the traffic police, when contacted, said that people should not go out late at night, due to extremely low visibility. The headlights should be kept on early in the morning when the fog is dense and the sunlight cannot reach the ground, he added.



Islamabad Traffic Police (ITP) Spokesperson Shamas Gill said no major accident has been reported due to the fog yet. “We advise commuters to drive slow, especially when the visibility is low.”

The ITP helpline, 1915, remains open 24 hours, he added.

PMD National Weather Forecasting Centre Director Muhammad Hanif said the fog will remain in Punjab until it rains, which is expected in the second week of January.

PMD Director General Arif Mehmood said the intensity of the fog this year is about the same as last year. “There is not much difference [between the fog this year and last],” he said.

He added the weather will remain cold till the start of February.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 3^rd, 2013.