Dense fog disrupts life in upper Punjab

Pakistan's National Meteorological Office predicted dense, foggy weather to continue for another 48 hours in the upper Punjab region on Monday, causing further disruption to road, rail and air mobility. At least 15 people have been reported killed in different parts of Punjab province over the past week since the fog set in, while dozens have been injured in traffic accidents due to poor visibility. "The cultivated areas - in Faisalabad, Lahore and Sargodha divisions - where the irrigation period has started, are under heavy fog. The conditions have improved in Multan division but in areas of upper Punjab it’s still misty. The visibility this morning in Jehlum was only 20 metres while in Lahore it was 50 metres," Anjum Bari, meteorologist at the met office, told IRIN in the capital Islamabad. Dense fog has disrupted train schedules and also delayed national and international flights at Lahore, Islamabad, Faisalabad and Multan airports, according to the country's Civil Aviation Authority. Meanwhile, the police have closed both the Lahore-Islamabad and Lahore-Faisalabad sections of the country's superhighway to vehicles during peak fog time from 1800 until 0700, following a number of serious traffic accidents. "Two people were killed while some 15 were injured in collisions due to poor visibility on motorways," Dr Mehmood Ali Khokhar, public relations officer of the National Highways and Motorway Police, told IRIN in Islamabad, adding that some 18 to 20 vehicles were also damaged in accidents on the Islamabad-Lahore section of motorway over the weekend. Flights have been restricted at Lahore airport to the hours between 1000 and 2300, according to Lahore flight operations of civil aviation authority. The met’s Bari blamed the heavy fog on dust particles, which have gathered in the air due to the long absence of rainfall in the region. "Evaporation and evapo-transpiration as a result of irrigation in cultivated fields have increased the moisture in the air, which in combination with the dust particles have turned to heavy fog," Bari said. "Although it is a normal phenomenon in late December and January in isolated areas of Punjab, this is first time that fog has disrupted mobility across the region on such a large scale," he added. Bari predicted that weather conditions would improve in a few days as winds and cloud build up in the area. However, a total clearing of the fog is expected to take time, the meteorologist maintained. Meanwhile, the National Highways and Motorway Police have asked commuters to keep their vehicles in good condition, with properly installed fog lights on in the front and back of vehicles before travelling. "Motorists should also maintain a two second safe following distance while moving on the roads, and must avoid speeding," public relations officer Khokhar, said.