Plains of the country including the City remained in the grip of biting cold and blanketed by dense fog on Tuesday with experts predicting the harsh weather conditions to persist during the next 2-3 days.

Dense fog caused closure of Motorway, disrupted air and rail traffic besides hampering vehicular movement on inter and intra city routes in the morning and late night.

Most parts of the plains hardly saw any sunshine while in Lahore the relief was limited to only 20 minutes and after that the sun disappeared behind dense fog. In the afternoon, Lahorites witnessed 20 minutes sunshine after the city remained blanketed by thick fog for a couple of days.

Fog started falling in the evening after brief period of sunshine and become so dense at midnight that the visibility reduced to zero in open areas. Low visibility caused delay in arrival and departure of international and domestic flights. Dense fog also disturbed rail traffic and almost all trains reached to their respective destinations hours behind the scheduled time.

Reduced visibility hampered vehicular movement on major intercity roads, especially from midnight to 12 at noon. Moderate to dense fog forced closures of Motorway from Islamabad to Lahore and from Pindi Bhattian to Faisalabad at midnight, causing difficulties for the motorists who left with no other option except to use alternative routes including National Highway. Thick fog also disturbed vehicular movement on almost entire National Highway.

Lack of sunshine, snowfall over the hills and winds helped maintaining the mercury to a low level, making weather chilly during the day and at nighttime. Harsh weather conditions forced the people to stay indoors wrapped in woolies and blankets to keep their bodies warm. Excessive usage of heaters in the offices and at home led to low gas pressure in various parts of the City. In certain areas, women faced huge difficulties in cooking meals for their families.

According to the experts, continental air is prevailing over most parts of the country.

On Tuesday, Skardu remained the coldest place in the country where mercury dropped 13.5 degree Celsius below the freezing point. Maximum and minimum temperature in the City was recorded 10.2 C and 2.6 C respectively. Relative humidity in the morning was recorded 92 per cent which decreased to 86 per cent in the evening.

Local meteorological department has forecast mainly cold and dry weather for most parts of the country with fog over the plains of Peshawar and Punjab including the City during the next 2-3 days.