Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has issued a nationwide weather alert, warning of rain, thunderstorms, strong winds, fog, smog, and possible snowfall across Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
The alert, issued on Thursday through the authority’s National Emergencies Operation Centre, says Islamabad, Rawalpindi, and the Potohar region are likely to get rain with strong winds and thunderstorms. Heavy downpours are expected at isolated spots in Potohar, Murree, and the Galiyat.
Central and southern Punjab face a different hazard. Dense fog and smog are expected to form at night in Narowal, Sialkot, Gujranwala, Lahore, Faisalabad, Khanewal, Multan, Kot Addu, Bahawalpur, and nearby areas, which the NDMA said could cut visibility and disrupt road traffic.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, rain, strong winds, and thunderstorms are forecast from Chitral, Dir, Swat, and Kohistan in the north to Peshawar, Mardan, Nowshera, Charsadda, and Swabi in the plains. Scattered rain is also expected in Khyber, Orakzai, Kurram, Hangu, Bannu, Lakki Marwat, Karak, Dera Ismail Khan, and North and South Waziristan.
The heaviest falls are expected in the province’s upper districts, including Dir, Chitral, Swat, Kohistan, Shangla, Battagram, Mansehra, and Abbottabad. Snow is likely on high ground, and hail may hit isolated places.
Most of Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir is expected to stay overcast, with rain, strong winds, and thunderstorms.
The authority warned that the weather could raise the risk of landslides and leave roads slippery. It advised people travelling through mountain areas to take precautions and avoid unnecessary journeys, and told the departments concerned to stay on high alert and watch for landslides and other road hazards.
It urged people to rely only on verified weather information and to follow emergency alerts on its Pak NDMA Disaster Alert mobile app.
Rain had already stopped play in the Rawalpindi Test on Thursday. The fog warning lands in the middle of Punjab’s smog season, after the province’s environment agency said Indian air reached half of Punjab after Diwali and the education minister ruled out extra smog holidays for schools.
