High altitude areas in the mountainous regions in the north of the country saw the temperature plummet to near freezing point and below with further snow and rain forecast for the weekend. According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), the northern areas of Pakistan including the mountainous regions in Gilgit Baltistan (GB) , Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) were set to receive rain with snowfall on mountains. The lowest temperature was recorded in Leh where the temperature fell to a freezing -10 degrees Celsius.

Moreover, Skardu saw temperatures of - 5, while - 3 was recorded in Hunza, Astore and Kalat. In KP, the weather was expected to remain cold and partly cloudy in most districts of the province. However, Chitral, Dir, Buner, Swat, Kohistan, Mansehra, Abbottabad, Haripur, Mardan, Peshawar, Khyber, Bajaur, Kohat and Karam are likely to experience thundershowers and snowfall in the mountains. In AJK, snowfall and rain with thunder are expected in the mountainous areas.

For most parts of GB, there was a chance of rain with thunder and snowfall in the mountains, apart from being cloudy. In Balochistan, the weather will remain dry in most of the districts of the province while the forecast will remain partly cloudy and cold in the higher altitude districts, including Ziarat. In the plain areas of Punjab, the upper districts of the province will see the cold and partly cloudy weather. While in the Potohar region, light rain is expected at isolated places.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-INP