RAWALPINDI: The biting cold combined with dense fog threw routine life out of gear in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi on Wednesday.
The twin cities were enveloped in dense fog early morning which disturbed flight operation as well as train timings. Few cars were seen driving on main roads especially Murree Road, however, no accident was reported.
The fog began creeping late Tuesday night and by morning visibility had dropped to 10 metres. It only improved after 9am.
The meteorological department had forecast that the twin cities will be gripped by cold wave and dense fog for the next 24 hours.
`Dense fog will be visible on Thursday morning and night,` a meteorological department official said.
The official attributed the fog to moisture in the air combined with low speed of wind and air pollution. He said that these factors combine to make the conditions persist for a longer period of time. `The fog could disappear if gusty winds blow,` he said.
Hesaid theMet Officerecorded 5 degree Celsius in Rawalpindi and 3 degree Celsius in Islamabad. He said the weather is expected to remain cold and dry for the next 24 hours.
The fog also disturbed flight schedule at Benazir Bhutto International Airport. Flights going to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha and coming from New York, Toronto and Karachi weredelayed for one to two hours.
`On Wednesday morning and Tuesday night, flights scheduled for Lahore landed at Benazir Bhutto International Airport due to fog in Lahore. The airlines then transported passengers toLahore on buses,` an official of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) at the airport told Dawn.
Trains coming from Karachi, Quetta and Lahore arrived late in Rawalpindi due to fog. The railcar coming from Lahore arrivedat 6am and was scheduled to arrive at 5am.
`Because of low visibility drivers had been instructed to reduce speed to avoid any untoward situation,` said Railway Divisional Superintendent Munawar Khan.Meanwhile, fog increased the chill in the air but residents of Rawalpindi and Islamabad faced problems because of low pressure of natural gas. Residents were unable to warm themselves by lighting gas heaters and stoves.
