Tag: cold

  • Heavy smog blocks motorway again

    Heavy smog blocks motorway again

    Thick fog in the plains of Punjab has severely affected inter-city travel. Due to heavy fog, Lahore-Sialkot Motorway is closed, while M-2 Motorway from Lahore to Farooqabad, M4, Shurkot Interchange to Gojra and Multan-Sukkur Motorway are also suspended.

    Rain and snowfall are likely in Gilgit-Baltistan, Kashmir, and adjoining hilly areas today.

    Many regions of the country are in the grip of severe cold and during the last 24 hours, Kalam was the coldest region of the country with a temperature of minus 9 degree Celsius recorded.

    On the other hand, cold weather has returned to Karachi after heavy showers spread out over two days. However, the air in Karachi and Lahore is still polluted, while the air quality is relatively better.

  • Newborn baby severely burnt after hospital staff forgets to remove her from warmer

    Newborn baby severely burnt after hospital staff forgets to remove her from warmer

    A newborn baby girl has suffered severe burns after medical staff at BHU Hospital in Jhelum forgot to take her out from a warmer.

    As per news reports, the baby was moved to the DHQ Hospital in critical condition.

    According to the spokesperson for the Jhelum Health Department, CEO Health Dr. Mian Mazhar has also suspended all of the labour room employees. LHV Nadia and two midwives, Farzana and Samia, were among the members of the suspended staff.

    Paediatric Regulations will be applied to the negligent employees while their employment contracts will be terminated.

  • What is the new dress code and timings for school going students in Islamabad?

    The Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) has changed timings for educational institutes and announced a relaxation in uniform policy amid the extreme cold in the capital.

    Single-shift institutes will run from 8:30am to 2:30pm Monday through Thursday and close at 12:30pm on Friday, according to the official notification.

    On Monday through Thursday, evening shifts in double-shift institutions will run from 1:30pm to 7pm. On Friday, it will begin at 2:30 PM.
    Pre-I (Montessori/Prep) lessons will be offered Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 12:30pm.

    Students are permitted to dress in any warm clothing of any colour to stay warm in the month of January to February, according to the official announcement.

  • LHC extends winter vacations for Lahore’s schools and colleges due to smog

    LHC extends winter vacations for Lahore’s schools and colleges due to smog

    Due to rising smog, the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday ordered the government to extend the winter break for all schools and colleges in the capital of Punjab by one week.

    The order was given by the high court as it heard a petition calling for action to reduce smog in the city. It stated that the government was in charge of implementing preventative measures after the smog.

    The Provincial Disaster Management Authority’s (PDMA) director general has also been called before the LHC for the next hearing.

    The change occurs while Lahore consistently ranks first among the top 10 most polluted cities in the world.

    All public and private schools in the province will be closed from December 24 to December 31 due to the earlier announcement made by the Punjab School Education Department. The reopening day for the schools was January 2, 2023. Now, on January 9, schools and universities will reopen.

    As low-grade diesel emissions, smoke from seasonal agricultural burnoff, and colder winter temperatures combine to form stagnant clouds of smog, air pollution has gotten worse in Pakistan recently.

  • Mercury in Karachi to drop further next week

    Mercury in Karachi to drop further next week

    The temperature in Karachi is going to fall down to 9 degrees Celsius next week as cold winds have started to blow in the port city, Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has said.

    The weather in the metropolis is expected to get colder from January 27 to January 29, the department said.

    “It will get colder as wind speed will increase from 42 km [kilometres] per hour to 48 km per hour,” a spokesperson of the Met Office was quoted as saying.

    “The temperature in Karachi has for now been recorded at 18 degrees [Celsius] and is expected to drop to as low as 12 [Celsius] degrees today,” the spokesperson added.

    Moisture in the air was recorded at 43% and visibility level was 3 km.

  • Balochistan govt takes guardianship of child shoeshiner crouching in cold weather

    Balochistan govt takes guardianship of child shoeshiner crouching in cold weather

    The Balochistan government has taken guardianship of a street child whose video, in which he was seen carrying a shoe-polishing kit on a footpath in severely cold weather, went viral on social media.

    As per reports, the provincial government’s spokesperson, Liaquat Shahwani, said the video of the child made him very upset.

    “It’s heart-wrenching to watch this video. I was hurt and upset when I saw those visuals,” Shahwani shared.

    “We have already fixed a budget of 50 crores for child protection authority and will work towards an effective legislation against child labour,” said the spokesman adding that the Chief Minister Balochistan Jam Kamal Khan has taken responsibility for this child himself.

    The video shows the child sitting in
    a corner trying to keep himself warm in this bitter cold, with a shoe-polishing
    kit next to him.

    While the government has been unable to locate him until now, Shahwani said that he will be taken under the government’s wing as soon as he is located.

    “It was around 12:30 AM, when I went there. I’ve visited the place three times but the child was not there. I have assigned people the duty to locate the child. I will go myself once we have the address,” he said.

  • Karachi to witness coldest day in 70-year history; mercury to drop to 3°C

    Karachi to witness coldest day in 70-year history; mercury to drop to 3°C

    The provincial capital of Sindh is likely to witness next week its coldest day in over 70 years as the mercury drops to a chilling 3 degrees Celsius.

    According to Pakistan Meteorological Depart (PMD), the westerly weather system that caused drizzle and cloudy weather in Karachi on Sunday has now moved to Balochistan, but a new cold wave, as witnessed on Monday, will last until January 22.

    While the temperature is likely to fall to 3 degrees Celsius, the lowest recorded temperature in Karachi was 3.3 degrees back in the February of 1950.

    With rain across the port city on Sunday, the lowest temperature has for now been recorded at 14 degrees Celsius, while the highest was recorded at 23.7 degrees Celsius.

    The weather remains cold and dry for now.

  • Lahore panagahs refuse to accomodate women

    Lahore panagahs refuse to accomodate women

    A 65-year-old woman, Noreen Malangi from Rahim Yar Khan, has had to spend the cold winter nights on the streets of Lahore as shelter homes in the city did not allow her in.

    While talking to a private news outlet she said, “I came here alone, but the management of the shelter refused to let me in. Ever since, I have been spending my nights on the streets.”

    Malangi has been sitting outside the Data Darbar shelter home
    for a week. She went there twice but was sent back both times.

    Another 62-year-old woman Aasia came to the shelter from Shahkot but was also sent back.

    “They told me they didn’t have rooms for women but allowed men to come in the shelter,” she said.

    As per reports, there is space for 750 men but just 115 women at five shelter homes across Lahore.

    According to the management of the Data Darbar shelter, women
    can’t be let in unless female staff is hired.

    “We have halls and rooms already allotted for women but we are all men here,” said Fayyaz, the in charge of the Data Darbar shelter home.

    “In case of an emergency with the women, how are we going to tackle the situation?” he asked.

    Panagahs have been set up in different cities on the direction of Prime Minister Imran Khan who had issued instructions to the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief ministers to ensure that all people have a roof over their heads in this freezing weather.

  • ‘Lahore beats London’: Twitter goes crazy as mercury drops to 35-year low

    Twitterati, especially those from Lahore, lost it over the micro-blogging website after the residents of Punjab’s provincial capital woke up to the coldest winter morning in over 35 years.

    According to The Express Tribune, the temperature in the provincial capital was equivalent to Murree at 2°C early on Monday, which was followed by a minimum of 3°C and a maximum of 8°C on Tuesday.

    Data by Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) showed that shivering low temperature of 1°C was recorded in Attock and Dera Ghazi Khan, 2°C in Lahore, Murree, Rawalpindi, Multan, Chakwal and Bahawalpur, 3°C in Jhelum and 4°C in Sahiwal, Faisalabad and Sargodha.

    As winter blues grip Lahore, here’s what Twitterati have to say about it:

    https://twitter.com/fakihawajihaJvd/status/1211901883822071808

    Meanwhile, Chief Meteorologist Muhammad Riaz has highlighted that the current chilly spell would continue till mid-January.

    “Although climate change has some impact on weather patterns, there is nothing unusual. The coldest winter spell is witnessed from mid-December to mid-January every year,” he added.

    Weather reports issued by the PMD indicate that continental air is prevailing over most parts of the country and a shallow westerly wave is likely to affect the western and upper parts of the country from Tuesday (today).

  • Panagahs provide warmth as cold wave grips Pakistan

    Panagahs provide warmth as cold wave grips Pakistan

    Amid the cold wave that has gripped the entire county, Prime Minister Imran Khan directed the chief ministers of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to ensure that no person is left out in the cold.

    PM Imran Khan asserted that in case there is no space in the existing Panagahs, temporary ones should be set up to accomodate everyone.

    Following the premiere’s orders, Panahgah’s have been set up in different parts of the country to provide shelter to the homeless and poor.

    The Government of Pakistan and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf’s official Twitter handles have been sharing visuals of the Panahgah’s that have been set up in different parts of the country.

    Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar also surveyed the Panagah set up in Thokar Niaz Baig, Lahore to ensure that it had all the facilities.

    PM Imran had also taken this initiative last year in the winters.