Winter capital colder than Srinagar
5 flights cancelled, NH-44 clear
Gopal Sharma
JAMMU/SRINAGAR, Jan 12: Dense fog and bone-chilling cold gripped Jammu on Monday as the city recorded the coldest day with a record low temperature during last one decade, disrupting normal life and forcing the cancellation of five flights at Jammu Airport amidst poor visibility while the night temperature has witnessed slight rise in the Valley.
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Jammu remained colder than Srinagar on the second consecutive day on Monday as the winter capital city recorded a day temperature of 7.2 degrees Celsius, as per Chatha Observatory of SKUAST-Jammu. This is said to be the lowest day temperature in Jammu during past over a decade, about 10 degrees below normal, an official from SKUAST Jammu said.
The Temple City recorded a night temperature of 2.0 degrees C today as compared to 1.6 deg C on Sunday. The MeT observatory in Jammu City, however, recorded a maximum temperature of 9.6 deg C today as compared to 12.4 deg C in Srinagar.
A MeT official said that Jammu city was colder than most recorded places in Jammu and Kashmir, with Banihal town by much warmer at 19.3 degrees Celsius, followed by Batote 17.5 deg C and Bhaderwah tourist destination 17.2 deg Celsius.
Katra, the base camp for the pilgrims visiting Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine in Reasi district recorded a high of 15.5 degrees Celsius and a low of 5.0 degrees Celsius.
Scenes of people huddling around bonfires were witnessed at various places across Jammu as residents tried to keep themselves warm after waking up to dense fog in the morning.
Severe cold was witnessed a day before Lohri, a popular festival in Jammu which marks the end of winter and the onset of longer days after the Winter Solstice. It also coincides with the harvesting season of Rabi crops.
An Airport official said that out of the 36 scheduled flights to and from Jammu airport, five were cancelled while eight others were delayed due to dense fog and poor visibility.
The cancelled flights included Delhi-Jammu-Delhi, Srinagar-Jammu-Delhi, Leh-Jammu-Leh, Delhi-Jammu-Srinagar and another Delhi-Jammu-Delhi service. Even during evening hours also, the flight operation was hit due to dense fog.
The train and vehicular traffic was also badly affected in the Jammu region and parts of adjoining states.
Meanwhile, Kashmir received some respite from intense cold wave conditions as minimum temperatures rose by a couple of degrees, even as they remained below the freezing point.
The sub-zero temperatures and clear skies resulted in freezing of parts of the Dal Lake and other water bodies in the Valley.
Srinagar recorded a minimum temperature of minus 2.4 degrees Celsius last night, up from the previous night’s minus 5.2 degrees Celsius. The city recorded its coldest night this season on Thursday, with the mercury dipping to a low of minus 6 degrees Celsius.
Shopian town was the coldest place in the Valley with a minimum temperature of minus 6.5 degrees Celsius.
Pahalgam tourist resort recorded a low of minus 3.4 degrees Celsius.
The night temperature in the popular ski resort of Gulmarg settled at a low of minus 3.4 degrees Celsius, up from the previous night’s minus 6.2 degrees Celsius.
The tourist resort of Sonamarg in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district recorded a minimum temperature of 2.4 degrees Celsius.
Qazigund registered a low of minus 3.4 degrees Celsius, Kokernag minus 1.8 degrees Celsius and Kupwara minus 3.7 degrees Celsius.
The Weatherman today forecast light rain and snow at isolated places in Kashmir on January 16 and 17.
Kashmir is currently in the midst of ‘Chilla-i-Kalan’, 40 days of extreme cold, when night temperatures often drop several degrees below the freezing point and the chances of snowfall are the highest.
‘Chilla-i-Kalan’, which began on December 21 last year, ends on January 30.The plains of the valley have not received any snowfall so far this season.
The India Meteorological Department has said the weather is likely to remain dry but cloudy till January 21.
The historic Mughal Road, connecting Rajouri and Poonch districts with the Kashmir Valley, was reopened for normal traffic on Monday after remaining closed for a week due to heavy snowfall, officials said.
They said the road was initially reopened partially on Sunday, allowing only those vehicles which were stranded on either side to pass through.
“On Monday morning, traffic movement was fully restored. The highway was closed for vehicular traffic due to heavy snowfall”, they said.
However, the traffic police has issued fresh cut-off timings, stipulating that vehicles would be allowed to cross the cut-off points at both ends only till 2.30 pm, after which no traffic would be permitted on the stretch.
Officials said there is still partial snow-cover at Pir Ki Gali, and slippery road conditions are likely during evening hours.
The Jammu-Poonch highway, which remained shut for three hours due to landslide, has also been restored for the normal traffic, they added.
SSP Traffic National Highway, Raja Adil Hamid said that two way traffic was moving normally on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway. He dismissed the rumours regarding closure of the NH-44 in Ramban sector.
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