LAHORE: Dense fog blanketed provincial capital and several other cities of the province on Thursday night reducing visibility level to almost zero.
The fog badly disrupted the schedule of national and private airlines after which the airport was closed. All departing flights were delayed and the incoming flights were diverted to other airports.
The Meteorological Department has said that the fog may persist in days to come.
Thick fog blanketed Lahore, Sheikhupura, Hafizabad, Pindi Bhattian Faisalabad and motorway was closed for all kind of traffic due to low visibility. National Highway also remained fog-bound from Gujranwala to Kasur and Pattoki.
The Met department said fog had started to develop because of persistent dry weather. The condition in India – was worse as it was experiencing dense fog in Punjab, Delhi, Lucknow, Allahabad and even in Bengal.
In Lahore, the fog developed in the early hours of Thursday and persisted till 10am. It shielded sun in the meantime and reduced visibility to a great extent. As a result, traveling in the morning rush hour was difficult, especially for the motorcyclists. The Met department said thick fog would again develop on Thursday night and Friday morning.
A westerly wave is likely to give rain and snowfall from Saturday to Monday in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. There were also chances of scattered rain in Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Lahore and Faisalabad during this period.
Meanwhile, winter has started intensifying over the upper parts of the country.