Dense fog over Karachi reduces visibility, disrupts flight operations

• Fog cover reported in Clifton, II Chundrigar Road, University Road.
• PMD forecasts mostly cloudy weather in city for next 24 hours.
• Flight diverted due to low visibility, part of routine safety move: PAA

KARACHI: Residents of the port city, who eagerly await the short-lived winters, woke up to a rather pleasant change in the weather on Sunday, with dense fog covering various parts of the city.

The skyline of the metropolis turned rather opaque with low visibility due to the fog cover, with the visibility going down to zero at the M-9 Motorway.

Fog cover was reported in various areas, including Northern Bypass, University Road, Karimabad, North Karachi,  Gulistan-e-Jauhar, II Chundrigar Road, Clifton, Defence, Surjani Town, Sohrab Goth and other localities.

Forecasting that the weather in Karachi is likely to remain mostly cloudy in the next 24 hours, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has said that the maximum temperature is expected to hover between 28 degrees Celsius and 30°C.

With humidity levels at 95% and a seven-kilometre-per-hour breeze blowing from the northeast, the lowest temperature was recorded at 17.5°C, the Met Office added.

The PMD also said that the visibility in Karachi was recorded at 200 metres due to fog, and furhter predicted foggy conditions for tomorrow (Monday).

Noting that currently, the visibility was 1,500 metres, it said that the weather was likely to remain clear on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the fog in Karachi has also resulted in six international flights being diverted from the Jinnah International Airport to other airports.

The Pakistan Aviation Authority (PAA) said that flights were diverted to Muscat, whereas another private airline’s flight was diverted to Islamabad.

Redirecting flights in restricted visibility is a routine safety measure, the authority said.

The flight operation was later restored with seven international flights departing from Islamabad for Karachi.

International flights that had been stranded in Karachi for six hours also departed for their destinations, while a total of 30 flights were delayed by up to eight hours.

Meanwhile, 14 flights operating between Karachi and Lahore were delayed by periods ranging from one to 10 hours.