Mughal road being opened today
Flight cancelled, 10 delayed in Jammu
Fayaz Bukhari/Gopal Sharma
SRINAGAR/ JAMMU, Dec 23: Parts of Kashmir were hit by fresh snowfall and rain, with temperatures improving across the region giving people respite from the cold weather conditions, while one flight was cancelled and ten others delayed at Jammu Airport due to fog and poor visibility in the region.
Follow the Daily Excelsior channel on WhatsApp
Official sources said that due to the fog and bad weather, train and vehicular services were also hit in the Jammu region and adjoining Punjab. However, the weather improved after 12 noon.
Director Airport Authority Jammu, Devender Yadav said that due to poor visibility in the region one Indigo flight was cancelled and ten others were delayed at Jammu Airport. However, the weather improved after 11.30 am and all other flights operated from this airport.
Meanwhile, the ski resort of Gulmarg was among the places in the higher reaches that received intermittent snowfall through the night and continued till the morning. The Pir Ki Gali in Shopian and Gurez in Bandipora also received snowfall.
The plains of the valley received intermittent rain during the night.
The minimum temperature in Srinagar was recorded at 2.7 degrees Celsius, down from 4 degrees Celsius the night before and 5.1 notches above the season’s normal.
Other places in the valley also registered above-normal minimum temperatures ranging from 3.8 to 5.6 degrees Celsius.
The tourist resorts of Gulmarg and Pahalgam, in south Kashmir, recorded sub-zero temperatures, with the mercury settling at minus 2.2 degrees Celsius and minus 0.2 degrees Celsius, respectively.
In south Kashmir, Qazigund recorded a low of 3.2 degrees Celsius and Kokernag 2.8 degrees Celsius.
Kupwara in north Kashmir recorded a minimum temperature of 2.4 degrees Celsius.
The day temperature in Srinagar settled at 10.2 degrees Celsius which is 1.2 degrees Celsius above normal for this time of the year. Qazigund settled at 7.0 degrees Celsius, Pahalgam 5.8 degrees Celsius, Kupwara 11.0 degrees Celsius, Kokernag 6.0 degrees Celsius and Gulmarg 0.8 degrees Celsius which is above normal for Srinagar and Kupwara by 1.2 and 1.9 notches respectively and below normal for Qazigund, Pahalgam, Kokernag and Gulmarg by 1.9, 1.1, 1.3 and 2.6 notches respectively.
The Meteorological Department has forecast generally cloudy weather with the possibility of rain at isolated places. “The weather is likely to remain dry over the next few days,” it said.
Met official further said that Jammu recorded a maximum temperature of 21.6 degree Celsius and minimum 10.7 deg; Katra town a minimum temperature of 11.4 degrees, Bhaderwah tourist resort a minimum temperature of 1.3; Batote 5.4 while Banihal a minimum temperature of 2.7 deg C on Tuesday.
A Railway official said that at least five trains were delayed by 30 minutes to five hours at Jammu station today. The departures of some of the trains were also rescheduled.
Reports from Poonch said that authorities have informed that the historical Mughal road will be thrown open for traffic movement tomorrow which was closed due to fresh snowfall at Pir ki Gali and its adjoining areas two days ago.
They said road was closed after fresh snowfall from late night hours of December 20 and 21. Border Roads Organization cleared the snow on December 22 but later snowfall took place again on Mughal road due to which road remained closed for traffic movement even today.
Sub Divisional Magistrate Surankote, Farooq Khan Nazki said that BRO has cleared the snow once again from both sides of Poonch and Shopian and movement of vehicles shall be allowed from December 23 but to ensure safety, commuters must prefer to travel during day hours as there would be slippery condition during morning and evening hours.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
