LAHORE: Foggy conditions are likely to grip most parts of the Punjab with no rain and cold and dry weather is likely to continue in the coming days plus a fresh cold wave is likely to affect upper parts of the country, reports the Met Office.
Fog will continue to persist in Lahore, Gujranwala, Sargodha, Bahawalpur, Sukkar and Peshawar divisions, eastern and central Punjab and central Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa, whereas hilly areas are also likely to remain under the grip of severe cold wave.
Met Office informed that because of persistent dry conditions with decreasing temperatures and increasing trend of humidity in the air, the probability of occurrence of ‘moderate and dense’ fog in Punjab has increased during the current month.
It also predicted that some sectors of motorways (M1, M2 and M3) and National Highway (N-5) will remain in the grip of ‘shallow and moderate’ fog during the current week. The drivers are advised to remain very careful during the foggy weather conditions, it said.
Met Office Director Naeem Shah said that fog had a great effect on traffic. In Pakistan, dense fog had led to road accidents and delayed flights, resulting in injuries and economic losses, he said. “Fog can also play tricks; changing the way that sound and light move, making it difficult to orient oneself,” he added.
About rainfall, he said that on the basis of prevailing atmospheric circulation and global weather conditions, prior to winter period, an attempt was made to predict the probable amount of rainfall, which was likely to occur in Pakistan during the winter period (December to February 2010-11). He said that such prediction aimed to satisfy the statistical test for 80 percent success. He said that normal rainfall (area weighted) for the period December to February for Pakistan was 51.99 mm.
As per data collected from Met Office, on Monday weather will remain partly cloudy with 2 degree Celsius (C) in Abbotabad, dry with 8 C in Bhawalpur, partly cloudy with 3 C in D I Khan, dry with 4 C in Faisalabad, partly cloudy with 4 C in Gujranwala, partly cloudy with 2 C in Islamabad, dry with 11 C in Karachi and dry with 3 C in Lahore.
