Karachi braves coldest morning of the year as cold spell intensifies

While the ongoing spell of chilly weather intensifies, Karachi on Sunday braved the coldest morning of the year as the mercury dropped below 4.5 degrees Celcius.

With the chilly winds sweeping across the port city, Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) had alerted the Karachiites to be prepared for the weather to get even chillier, forecasting the cold wave to become more intense from Saturday night.

As per the Met department, the lowest temperature was recorded at 6°C in Karachi but weather analyst Jawad Memon claimed that the mercury dropped as low as 4.5°C in the northern parts of the city.

Meanwhile, the level of humidity in the atmosphere was recored at 50% and north-eastern winds blew at the pace of 10 to 12 kilometres per hour.

The national weather forecasting centre said that the weather will remain cold and dry during the next 24 hours.

As per the Met Department, the current cold wave will continue till January 16, during which the mercury is likely to drop as low as 3 degrees Celsius.

Karachi and Sindh are witnessing a spell of chilly weather under the influence of a westerly system that entered the province via Balochistan, the PMD said last week.

As per PMD's weekly weather outlook, cold and dry weather is expected in most parts of the country, with foggy and snowy weather in specific areas, throughout the week.

"Mainly cold and dry weather is expected in most parts of the country, while very cold in upper parts and north Balochistan. Frost is likely in Pothohar region, Kashmir and upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during morning hours. Foggy condition is likely in upper Sindh, Punjab and plain areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa," the outlook stated.

Earlier, the Met department also forecast cold and dry weather in most parts of the country and cloudy weather in western and upper districts.

The PMD said that snowfall has stopped in Muree but the intensity of the weather remains the same. The citizens face inconvenience due to water freezing within the pipelines at the hill station, which is a popular tourist spot in winter.

In Punjab, M2 Motorway has been closed for traffic from Lahore to Khanqah Dogran as fog continues to blanket different cities in the province. The motorway police closed traffic from Faizpur to Jaranwala and M11 from Lahore to Sambaryal.