Lowari Top closed as hilly areas receive snowfall

Image by groundreporter via Flickr

PESHAWAR (The News): Isolated rain is expected in upper parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa today (Thursday) as snowfall was reported on hills in various areas on Wednesday after a long dry and cold spell. 

Clouds in the sky of the provincial capital created hope of long-awaited rain as according to the Metrological Department forecast light shower is expected in the next 24 hours. Reports suggested that it snowed in Malam
Jabba and Kalam in Swat, at the Lowari Top linking Dir Upper with Chitral, and Naran and Kaghan in Mansehra district. Swat district also received light rain, breaking the dry spell. 

Weather in different parts of the province, including the provincial capital, remained cold and dry with partial clouds. Minimum temperature recorded on Wednesday was -1 degree Centigrade in Peshawar, Abbottabad -1, Chitral -4, Dera Ismail Khan 03, Bannu 01 and Kohat zero degree Centigrade. 

Chitral was cut off from other parts of the country as the Lowari Top was closed for traffic after heavy snowfall on Tuesday night. Eyewitnesses said that due to the road closure, movement of all traffic had been stopped between Lowari and Peshawar for the last 20 hours. Also, Naran and Kaghan valleys received snowfall on Wednesday. The snowfall started early in the morning and continued till evening without any interval.

Local people said by phone that residents were in miserable condition due to the frequent power outages in the valley. They said snowfall had made the weather chilly.Meanwhile, vehicular traffic on the Motorway and the GT Road remained disturbed due to the fog. The fog engulfed the Peshawar-Swabi and Swabi-Islamabad sections of the Motorway from 8 am to 10 am, causing hardships to motorists and commuters. Disruption of flights to and from Peshawar was also reported due to the thick fog.


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