Rare May snow hits Ayubia for the first time in 100 years, Pakistan

Rare May snowfall hit the province of Ayubia in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, on Tuesday, May 19, 2020– a rare occurrence in the month of May after a 100-year hiatus in the province's Abbottabad district.

Nearby areas also received light snowfall, including the Galiyat region — roughly 50 to 80 km (31 to 50 miles) northeast of Islamabad.

A 90-year-old resident of Aybia named Haji Muhammad Aniyat Abbasi said he has not experienced such weather since the British colonial rule before the partition.

Abbasi added that his older brother told him that the last time the hilly region had received snowfall in the month of May was in the 1920s. Another resident, 16-year-old Yasir Abbasi said he enjoyed the snowfall although it was very unusual for him. 

Samina Bibi, 65, said she was grocery shopping when the snowfall started, adding that she had never witnessed such occurrence during the month of May. People were then urged to wear coats to protect themselves from the cool weather.

Galiyat Development Authority (GDA) director-general Muhammad Raza Habib said he received reports from his team in Ayubia about the snow, but there were no major disturbances for the civilians' daily life in the region.

He has also given strict orders to his team for them to be actively involved in dealing with weather-related problems.

The rare May snow was brought by a weak westerly passing over the country's north.

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