Anyone intending to visit Pakistan in January to enjoy the holidays has to keep warm clothes in their bags as it’s the winter season. This is a time when school vacations are extended due to smog and adverse weather conditions. But like locals, they have to remain updated about the weather through official sources and double-check while receiving any unverified message.

The sharing of messages on mobile applications has been a concern for many people. They fear that the trend to forward them without any confirmation has affected them.

On Friday, the Pakistan Meteorological Department issued a clarification or rebuttal in reaction to news being circulated related to weather from January 12 to January 15. It was uploaded on social media and its official website.

“The news about the weather on social media during [from] January 12 to 15 is baseless,” it said and denied the unverified reports being circulating on social media for the past two days.

Not just northern areas, cities in the southern part of the country have also been seen shivering in gusty cold snap this month. This year’s cold wave has been a concern for many people due to gas load-shedding and exorbitant rates of natural gas.

The ‘rumour’

When asked about the reason for issuing the clarification, Dr Sardar Sarfaraz, chief meteorologist at the Pakistan Meteorological Department, shared the ‘baseless news’ being circulated on social media with Aaj News. The message was titled “breaking news”.

Without quoting any source, the viral message stated that days and nights from January 12 to January 15 could be the coldest in “Pakistan’s 100-year history”.

It merits here to mention that the South Asian country celebrated 76 years of its independence last year.

There could be snowfall at day or night times at parts of the country as it occurred in Saudi Arabia, it alleged. According to the unverified message, snowfall was expected in Gujrat, Jhang, Toba Tek Singh, Multan, Khanewal, Bahawalpur, Kasur, Vehari, Okara, Sahiwal, Hafizabad, Chakwal, Jhelum, Mianwali, Bhakkar, Layyah, Chiniot, Sargodha, Khushab, Dera Ghazi Khan, Rajanpur, and Rahim Yar Khan.

Also, read this

Karachi shivers as cold winds sweep through and mercury plummets to 14C

Temperatures fall to nearly freezing level as westerly cold winds enter country

Interactive graph: Pakistan received 180% above normal rainfall till July 25

It alleged that it would be a severe wave of the winter season in the country, especially Punjab, triggering another rumour that winter vacations in Punjab schools would be further extended.

The message, without any attribution, concluded with a warning against unnecessarily leaving the house and travelling to the northern areas. It also urged the people to drink more water and increase their intake of Kahwah.

Intensity of cold expected to increase in next few days

The brief statement of the PMD denied reports related to the weather forecast in above mentioned four days.

According to the Met Office, it was continuously monitoring the weather. “January is usually the coldest month,” it said and urged the people to ignore such ‘baseless news.’

“There is no truth in such reports,” PMD Deputy Director Irfan Virk told Aaj News and added that the intensity of cold was increasing due to fog.

“In the next few days, the severity of the cold may increase due to fog,” Virk added.

(With a contribution from Islamabad Bureau)