2022 Murree snowstorm

On 7 January 2022, a snowstorm occurred in Murree, Murree District, in the Punjab province of Pakistan, dropping more than 4 feet (1.2 m) of snow, killing 23 domestic tourists who had visited to see the snowfall. Many died as temperatures fell to around minus 8 degrees Celsius (17.6 F).

Background

A day before the incident, hundreds of thousands of people from other parts of Pakistan had driven to the high-altitude town of Murree in Murree District, Punjab, Pakistan, to see the snowfall. Several vehicles became stuck on the roads due to the snowfall and thousands of tourists spent the night on the roads. Snowfall began on Tuesday night and continued intermittently throughout the week, attracting many tourists. Murree is a popular destination for Pakistani tourists whenever it sees snow.

The Met Office had issued an alert on 5 January warning that heavy snowfall could potentially cause road closures in the area from 6–9 January. Soon after that, the Murree tehsil administration issued a travel advisory, urging tourists to check weather and traffic updates before coming. Since Murree is just a tehsil within the broader Rawalpindi district, the district administration itself did not hold a meeting to discuss the issue, although Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Ali said on social media that an increased number of traffic wardens were deployed. The National Disaster Management Authority also did not call for a meeting with district officials to prepare for the increased traffic.