Effects of Meteorological Parameters and El-Nino on Fog Duration / Intensity in Districts of Upper Punjab, Pakistan (P-0813) (MFN 5840)

Abstract

Fog is the most complex and least understood of all natural phenomenon. It is broadly defined as “cloudlike mass”. A fog impacts take in transportation hazards, human suffering, building deterioration, and damage to agronomy. The intensity and duration of fog over the plain of Punjab has significantly increased during the past years. This research has been conducted to analyze the effects of meteorological parameters and El Niño on fog. Parameters include maximum / minimum temperature, precipitation, relative humidity, and atmospheric pressure. Data was acquired from Pakistan Meteorological Department Islamabad and Karachi for the four districts of upper Punjab area which includes Faisalabad, Jhelum, Lahore, and Sialkot from the year 2001 to 2015. The results revealed that with an upsurge in pressure, precipitation, relative humidity, and decline in temperature upsurges the number of foggy days in upper Punjab area. The highest and lowest number of foggy days were recorded at Sialkot and Jhelum stations respectively; which were 361 and 135 days. To find the consequence of El Niño on fog correlation analysis was performed between pressure anomalies of different stations and sea level pressure anomalies. Sea level pressure anomalies were calculated by finding the difference between Darwin and Tahiti pressure anomalies. Correlation of 55% was found to exist between pressure of Darwin / Tahiti and study stations. The results show that meteorological parameters and El Niño phenomenon have effects on duration / intensity of fog.