Rain ends dry spell, improves air quality in Lahore

LAHORE: The city received moderate rain accompanied by cold winds on Friday, intensifying the chill in the weather and purging the dry spell of winter.

The rain brought about improvement in air quality of the provincial metropolis as well.

According to the IQAir, the maximum AQI was 493 at 11pm on Thursday night which came down to 142 at 8pm on Friday while the maximum on the day was 252 at 9am. It was just 142 when this report was filed at 10pm.

The rain also disrupted electricity supply in several areas due to the tripping of more than 260 feeders of the Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco), leaving many parts of the city without power for the better part of the day and causing difficulties for the consumers.

The Met Office stated that most parts of the country would experience cold weather while mountainous areas are expected to remain extremely cold at night.

Light rain and snowfall are likely in some areas, including Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, northeastern Punjab, upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Murree and surrounding regions.

Additionally, most plain areas of Punjab, as well as upper and central Sindh, are expected to face smog and moderate to dense fog.

Besides a forecast for more rain during night in the city, the Met Office said most districts of Punjab would experience cold and dry weather.

During the night and morning hours, moderate to dense smog/fog is expected in Sialkot, Narowal, Gujranwala, Mangla, Jhelum, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Sheikhupura, Okara, Sahiwal, Sargodha, Faisalabad, Jhang, Bhakkar, Layyah, Multan, Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar, Rahim Yar Khan, Dera Ghazi Khan, and nearby areas.

Published in Dawn, December 28th, 2024