Tourists urged to take precautions as KP braces for rain, snowfall spell

PESHAWAR: A new spell of rain and snowfall will begin in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province from Thursday (tomorrow), said the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) while urging tourists to take precautions during traveling in the province.

A handout issued by the PDMA to district administrations read that a new spell of rain and snowfall will begin in the KP province from Thursday and will last till Saturday.

There are also threats of land sliding in mountainous areas of the upper KP province, the PDMA said while urging the concerned institutions to take measures prior to the spell.

The PDMA also directed the local administration to ensure the availability of machinery needed to clear roads of any land sliding effect, rain, and snowfall.

The authority also called for timely updating the tourists visiting the province regarding the weather forecast, so that they could take necessary precautionary measures in this regard.

The travelers were also asked to take precautions during their journey to these areas, the provincial body said.

The director of the PDMA said that the authority has made its emergency operation center functional and the public could reach out to them for any untoward incident on helpline-1700.

It is pertinent to mention here that besides, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), other tourists spots in the country have also witnessed harsh weather conditions.

Temperatures dropped in upper areas of Diamer district in Gilgit-Baltistan region to intense cold after sporadic snowfall for last two days.

Mercury dropped to minus-21 Celsius at Nanga Parbat base camp, according to a weather report.

Babusar Top and Battugah Top have received over four feet of snowfall in the snow spell.

Mercury has dropped to minus-21 at Nanga Parbat base camp, at Fairy Meadows minus-11, while at Babusar Top and Battugah Top minus 12 and minus 10 Celsius respectively as the snowfall continued in the area.

Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has forecast cold weather in most of the districts in Balochistan during the next 24 hours, while very cold in the northern part of the province.

The temperature in Quetta and Kalat has dropped to one degree Celsius, the weather office said.