Severe cold wave across country, fog blankets most of Punjab

Islamabad: A severe cold wave continues across the country, with the upper reaches experiencing a chill.

According to the Meteorological Department, intermittent snowfall continues in the mountains of Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Due to this, the mercury has dropped below freezing point, and rivers, waterfalls, and lakes have frozen.

Due to severe cold and snowfall, citizens have been confined to their homes, and there has been a shortage of food and medicines.

Heavy rain and snowfall in the Neelum Valley have affected life, with the temperature in Kalat reaching  -10, in Ziarat -9, and in Gupis and Quetta touching -7. In Leh, -5 and in Astore -4 degrees Celsius have been recorded.

After the recent snowfall, the highways in the upper areas have become slippery, and the local administration has directed transporters to avoid unnecessary travel.

On the other hand, fog has settled in most of the plains of Punjab.

Visibility on the National Highway has become extremely low due to fog and various sections of the motorways have been closed for traffic.

According to a spokesperson for the Motorway Police, the Motorway M2 from Lahore to Kot Momin is closed due to fog, while the Abdul Hakeem Motorway M3 has also been closed for traffic.

The Motorway M4 from Pindi Bhattian to Faisalabad and Lahore-Sialkot M11 are also closed due to fog.

The Motorway Police spokesperson says that motorways are closed to ensure public safety and safe travel. Road users should prefer to travel during daylight hours as much as possible.