Karachi may get colder than it has been in seven years today

• Met Office says cold wave expected to grip Karachi in January
• It said a new wave of westerly winds has entered the country

KARACHI/ ISLAMABAD: The country’s weatherman has predicted that Karachi may record its lowest temperature in seven years today with the Met Office saying that the mercury may further drop in the coming week.

According to The News, the port city had recorded its lowest temperature of 6°C in 2013. It also reported that another cold wave is expected to grip Karachi in January. 

According to the Met department, it could also rain in Karachi from January 6-7.

The Met office said a new wave of westerly winds has entered the country due to which the severity of cold will increase in Karachi from Monday to Friday. Strong winds are likely to blow in the city from Sunday. It said that the weather was expected to drop down to the single-digit in Karachi.

Motorways closed because of fog

Motorway M2, Lahore to Islamabad, Pindi Bhattian, and M3 from Lahore to Nankana Sahib were shut down due to the fog. 

Islamabad was gripped by the cold as well due to snowfall in nearby Murree and Galiyat on Sunday.

Read more: Bad weather affects PIA flight schedules in various cities of Pakistan

Chilly winds coupled with overcast weather and dense fog swept through the region Sunday, forcing people to stay indoors over the weekend.

Some people were spotted having soup, tea and fried fish. Low gas pressure and gas outages were reported in some areas too, adding to the problems of the residents.

Weather update on the rest of Pakistan

According to the Met office, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, and adjoining areas may see rainfall Monday morning. It forecast more snowfall in Murree, Galiyat, Swat, Kohistan, and parts of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

On Sunday, the Met Office recorded 3°C as the minimum temperature in Islamabad with a humidity of 69% and zero degree Celsius as the minimum temperature in nearby Murree hill station with 70% humidity.

In Lahore, foggy weather was followed by moderate rain on Sunday while the Met office predicted similar weather conditions for the next 24 hours. The rain started early morning and continued intermittently late at night.

Met officials said a westerly wave was present over the upper parts of the country and may persist in upper parts till Monday. They predicted cold and dry weather in most parts of the country. Rain and snowfall were expected in upper Punjab, upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Kashmir and adjoining hilly areas. They added that dense fog was likely to prevail in central/southern Punjab and upper Sindh.

Read more: Karachi to face another cold snap starting Monday

Sunday’s lowest minimum temperature was recorded in Leh where the mercury dropped down to -14°C, while in Lahore it was 4.8°C and the maximum was 12.6°C.

Flight schedules changed

The schedules of several Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flights have been affected because of bad weather conditions across the country, it emerged Sunday.

According to a PIA spokesperson, the schedule of different flights had to be changed after heavy mist engulfed several cities of Pakistan, including Karachi, Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, Sialkot and its surrounding areas.