Heavy fog engulfs twin cities

Islamabad

The residents of twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad experienced a cold day on Monday, with heavy fog, particularly in the morning and evening. All national and international flights were affected due to foggy conditions for a couple of days. After some relief at about noon, heavy fog again started gripping the twin cities after 4 p.m. on Monday.

The Pakistan Meteorological Department, Islamabad, has predicted fog and cold weather in the region in the coming days. According to it, Rawalpindi and Islamabad recorded 0°C temperature. The lowest temperature in the country was recorded in Skardu, -15°C.

“These days, we are having a dense cover of fog during early morning and late night hours throughout Punjab and Islamabad. And it has considerably reduced visibility level on roads,” the Pakistan Meteorological Department said.

Fog blanketed the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad reducing the visibility level in the morning, which caused difficulties for motorists.

The visibility level decreased from 30 metres to 25-metres at GT Road around Soan River, Benazir Bhutto Road, Airport Road and Mall Road, where drivers moved their vehicles at a snail’s pace to avoid accidents. In the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, particularly at Jhelum Road around Soan River, visibility varied between 1,000 metres to as low as 25 metres due to thick fog from midnight to morning.

Meteorological Department Director Dr. Muhammad Hanif told ‘The News’ that there has been a dense cover of fog, which has reduced visibility to as low as 25 metres during late night hours and early morning not just on city roads, but also on national highways. Motorists should start travelling after 11 a.m. and should avoid travelling at night, he warned. He also predicted severe cold and foggy days in the region.

Talking to ‘The News’, a motorist, Zafar Hussain, said, “At 9:30 a.m. when I was going to my office in Islamabad, the visibility level was very low and I was facing difficulty in driving. I could not see any vehicle or object beyond 10 metres. I had to stop my car at roadside to wait for the fog to clear,” he said.

Posted in: Islamabad