A fresh rain spell, likely to start from Saturday in various parts of the country, will ease the prevailing foggy conditions, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said on Monday. An official said the spell would bring light scattered rain to upper parts of the country and would continue until Monday. Snowfall was also expected in the upper parts of the country and Margalla hills of Islamabad in the next few days, he added. The MET official said the severe cold weather prevailing over various parts of the country had broken the 50-year record, with maximum temperature across plain areas of Punjab dropping to six to eight degrees Celsius during the day. Earlier, these temperatures ranged between 20 to 22 degree Celsius. The maximum temperature in Southern Punjab had dropped to 12 to 14 this month, which were earlier recorded in the range between 20 and 21, while the maximum temperature in Central Punjab had dropped to 10 from the normal 19 degree Celsius. The maximum temperature in Potohar region and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had fallen to 14 from the normal 18 degree Celsius, the official said. He maintained that foggy conditions would continue to prevail over plain areas of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sukkur and Larkana divisions until Saturday, while severe cold wave would continue over northern parts of Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan during the next 24 hours. Meanwhile, the Lahore-Islamabad Motorway was closed for traffic on Monday due to thick fog.
