• Power outages hit 20 hours amid firewood and gas shortage
• PMD denies any ‘extreme cold wave across Pakistan’
GILGIT: Gilgit-Baltistan is in the grip of severe cold temperatures as local people are suffering multiple difficulties owing to acute power shortages and absence of basic facilities.
Three people, including a woman tourist, died due to suffocation caused by LPG leakage in Ghanche and Skardu.
According to police, a couple died of suffocation inside a room due to leakage of LPG in Khawla Brah area of Ghanche district.
The couple had been married only three months ago and were residing together at their home. The couple went to sleep on Sunday night in a room where an LPG heater was operational.
Later, family members found them lying unconscious inside the room. They were immediately shifted to DHQ Hospital, Khaplu, where they were declared dead on Monday.
In another incident, a woman tourist was found dead while her husband was injured due to LPG suffocation in their hotel room in Skardu on Sunday.
Police said the tourist couple from Punjab’s Talagang area were sleeping in a local hotel room in Skardu. They added that both of them were found unconscious on Sunday and shifted to hospital, where the woman was declared dead. The police suspected that leakage of LPG in the room caused her death, while the condition of her husband is stable.
The body was dispatched to their native village, while police have kicked off an investigation into the matter.
‘20-hour power outages’
People across the region are facing severe difficulties due to harsh weather, with most of them remaining indoors. Locals said the region faced over 20 hours of power outages during winter, along with shortages of firewood and gas.
Authorities said that in upper areas of Baltistan — Astore, Hunza, Nagar, and Ghizer — the mercury plunged to minus 16 degrees Celsius on Sunday night, bringing life to a standstill.
Ahmed Khan, a local resident of Astore, told Dawn that residents had been experiencing harsh weather conditions since this week.
Frozen water has made roads slippery, while unavailability and high prices of firewood and electricity shortages have added to the misery of people.
Zulfiqar Ali from Skardu said tourism, the main source of income for locals, had declined completely, leaving people jobless.
Other activities, including agriculture and local commerce, have also been suspended.
Rahim Karim from Gojal said the area experienced less snowfall this year; however, temperatures plunged to minus 14 degrees Celsius. People in the area depend on tourism, which is seasonal, and for half of the year many remain jobless.
PMD refutes claims
The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) certain social media platforms were circulating misleading and unverified forecasts claiming an extreme cold wave across Pakistan from Jan 16 to 25, with record-breaking temperatures.
The PMD refuted these claims, clarifying that no such extreme or historic cold wave was expected during this period.
It advised the public and stakeholders to rely solely on official forecasts, warnings, and advisories issued by the PMD and to avoid spreading unverified information that might cause unnecessary concern.
Published in Dawn, January 13th, 2026
