Mercury has dropped several degrees below freezing point in Kashmir
Srinagar:
Kashmir was once again covered with a white blanket on Sunday after the Valley witnessed fresh snowfall overnight.
Several parts of Kashmir, including Srinagar and Ganderbal, witnessed heavy snowfall, which the officials said was due to a western disturbance.
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The mercury has dropped several degrees below freezing point in Kashmir.
On Saturday, the famous ski resort Gulmarg in north Kashmir reportedly recorded a low of minus 10.6 degrees Celsius, while Pahalgam in south Kashmir saw minus 8.3 degrees Celsius.
Officials said that the snow, which has affected the traffic throughout this week, was being cleared from roads.
Flight Operations Hit Due To Snowfall In Kashmir
The air traffic between Kashmir and the rest of the country was temporarily suspended on Sunday due to snowfall.
While four flights were cancelled, the remaining scheduled flights were put on standby due to snowfall, the news agency PTI reported citing an official of the Airport Authority of India.
The snowfall, which began late last night, had stopped briefly early in the morning, allowing clearance of the runway, the official said.
“However, the snowfall started again before any flights could operate,” he said.
Kashmir received season’s first snowfall this week
Most parts of Kashmir, mainly the plains, received the season’s first snowfall this week as winter’s harshest period, Chillai Kalan, went snowless and registered one of the driest winter spells ever.
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Chillai Kalan is the 40-day harshest winter period that starts on December 21 every year and ends on January 31, However, this winter it went almost snowless with the Valley witnessing unusual weather conditions.
The Valley is currently going through a 20-day-long ‘Chilla-i-Khurd’ (small cold) which shall be followed by a 10-day ‘Chilla-i-Bachha’ (baby cold).
