After snow, flight operations hit at Srinagar airport

Srinagar, January 12

Intermittent snow continued in Kashmir for the second consecutive day on Saturday, leading to disruption in flight operations at the Srinagar airport, officials said.

However, the Srinagar-Jammu national highway–the only all-weather road-link connecting Kashmir Valley with the rest of the country–was through for traffic.

Intermittent snow continued in most parts of Kashmir for the second day, an official of the Meteorological Department here said.

He said while the plains, including Srinagar, experienced light snow, most of the higher reaches of the state received moderate snow.

The snow has led to a decrease in visibility, resulting in disruption of flight operations at the Srinagar airport.

“The air traffic to and fro Srinagar airport has been hit because of the low visibility due to continuous snow,” an official at the airport said.

He said so far three flights were cancelled while a few others were delayed.

However, the Srinagar-Jammu national highway was open for one-way traffic, an official at the Traffic Control Room here said.

The Met office has said there is a possibility of light rain and snow in many places, with heavy falls at isolated places, in the state on Saturday. It said the weather is likely to improve on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the minimum temperature at Srinagar settled at minus 0.8 degrees Celsius on Friday night–slightly up from the previous night’s low of minus 1 degree Celsius, the official of the Met office said.

He said Qazigund–the gateway town to the valley–in south Kashmir also recorded a low of minus 0.8 degree Celsius, while the nearby Kokernag town registered a low of minus 2.4 degrees Celsius last night.

The mercury in Kupwara town in north Kashmir settled at a low of 0.2 degree Celsius, the official said, adding that Kupwara was the only place in Kashmir where the night temperature settled above the freezing point.

Gulmarg ski-resort in north Kashmir recorded a low of minus 6 degrees Celsius last night, while Pahalgam tourist resort registered a low of minus 4.5 degrees Celsius.

The official said Leh recorded a low of minus 11.9 degrees Celsius last night, while the mercury in Drass settled at a low of minus 10.3 degrees Celsius and Kargil experienced the minimum of minus 16.8 degrees Celsius.

Kargil was the coldest recorded place in Jammu and Kashmir. PTI