Islamabad turns white

[donsu]

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A burst of hailstorm painted Islamabad white on Thursday taking people by surprise and bringing life to a virtual halt for a considerable while. Hailstones significantly big in size began raining down at around 1:30 pm and the black clouds that hovered above rendered the afternoon fairly dark. Everything – from roads to cars and from lawns to green belts – were quickly draped in white leaving many residents wondering if it were hailstones or snowflakes. The Met Office said the white cover had come about mainly because the size of the hailstones was slightly bigger than usual. “It was for this reason that people took notice although hailstorms are nothing unusual in this region,” a meteorologist told Daily Times. Interestingly, the day had begun with the sun finally making an appearance after four days of rain and harsh weather much to the relief of the public. But that respite did not last long enough as the clouds soon overpowered the might of the sun. That familiar roar of the clouds could be heard again as lightning streaked through the grey skies that opened up shortly afterwards. “The hailstorm appeared unusual to the public for it struck the entire town this time,” the Met official said.

As the storm ended, people came onto the streets to have a good look at what it had left in its wake. “It’s like being in Murree,” said one excited college student while another remarked he had never seen Islamabad so white before. The roads all around town were covered with a thick white layer and the hailstones seemed to go splattering from underneath the wheels of passing vehicles. “It is great fun driving in these conditions,” said Omer Rafi, a graphic designer. While the cloud cover continued to be as thick as it was, the Met Office said that the minimum recorded temperature was 7 degrees. It however predicted a clear day on Friday with the sun likely to shine nice and bright. Islamabad has been in the grip of biting cold in recent days with the spell of rain that began on Sunday making conditions even tougher for people. There have been reports of low gas pressure in several parts of the city and electricity load shedding has added to the woes of the public.

“The start of the New Year could not have been worse – low gas, power cuts, cold, rain and hailstorm, life is getting pretty tough,” said Ali Mannan, a resident of Sector G-8. Rawalpindi was also lashed by the hailstorm that affected traffic flow and inconvenienced commuters, students and office workers. However, for many people, especially children, the thick white cover provided an opportunity to make snowmen. The rain and the storm left big puddles at several places in the city that resulted in the usual traffic jams. It has now become a routine that each time it rains the traffic gets clogged badly although the situation is not too different when the sun is shining.)
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weather giving people all over the world a mess of problems and ruined food crops