Gopal Sharma
JAMMU/ SRINAGAR, Jan 6: It may sound incredible to many, but it is true that Jammu today turned colder, not only than Srinagar, but Bhaderwah and Banihal towns as well.
No doubt, Srinagar recorded season’s coldest night with minimum temperature of minus 5.4 degrees C, the winter capital Jammu today recorded a maximum temperature of 12.2 degrees C, whereas, the day temperature in Srinagar remained 12.3 degrees C, as per a MeT official.
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However, the Chatha weather observatory of SKUAST-Jammu recorded the day temperature of 10.6 degrees C, indicating that Jammu during the day was much colder than Srinagar. The foggy weather during the night and morning hours up to 11 am or maximum 12 noon, has added to the miseries of the people, paralyzing normal life in the region. It resulted into the sharp fall in day’s temperature, about 8 degrees below normal on Saturday. The minimum temperature in Jammu was 4.1 degrees as compared to yesterday’s 5.1 degrees C.
The winter capital Jammu was even more colder than Bhaderwah, Banihal and Batote towns. As compared to Jammu’s 12.2 or Chatha (10.6 deg C), the maximum temperature at Bhaderwah was 15.4 degrees C, Banihal 19.6 while at Batote it was 16.2 degrees C.
The night temperature at Bhaderwah was -0.3 deg C and Banihal -1.6 degrees C. Holy township of Katra recorded a maximum temperature of 18.8 degrees and minimum 5.6 degrees C today.
Meanwhile, freezing weather conditions showed no signs of reprieve in Kashmir valley. The temperature dropped by 1.6°C compared to last night and it was 3.5°C below normal for Srinagar for this time of the year.
A MeT official said the minimum temperature of minus 5.4°C equaled that of December 13 this year which was the coldest night so far this season in the city.
Qazigund recorded a minimum of minus 4.6°C against minus 3.0°C the previous night. The minimum temperature was 1.5°C below normal for the town.
Pahalgam recorded a low of minus 6.3°C against minus 4.5°C the previous night and it was 0.7°C above normal for the famous resort.
Kokernag recorded a minimum of minus 2.9°C against minus 2.0°C the previous night and the temperature was above normal by 1.1°C for the place.
Kupwara recorded a low of minus 5.4°C against minus 2.6°C the previous night and it was 2.7°C below normal there.
Gulmarg recorded a low of minus 4.5°C against minus 3.5°C the previous night and the temperature was 3.3°C above normal for the skiing resort.
However, with Sun coming out and due to clear sky, the maximum temperature across the region settled several notches above normal for this time of the year.
Srinagar, Qazigund, Pahalgam, Kupwara, Kokernag and Gulmarg settled at maximum of 12.3°C, 12.4°C, 9.8°C, 12.3°C, 10.6°C and 6.0°C, respectively which was 6.1°C, 6.4°C, 5.9°C, 6.2°C, 6.2°C and 5.5°C above normal respectively for these places for this time of the year.
The Weatherman said that in the next 24 hours, mainly dry weather is expected.
“Generally cloudy weather is expected with possibility of light rain/snow over isolated higher reaches on January 8. From January 9-10, generally dry weather is expected,” he said.
Meanwhile, a senior official at Jammu Airport said that one IndGo flight was cancelled and one diverted while 10 others delayed due to dense fog and poor visibility in Jammu area and the northern region.
A Northern Railways spokesman said that fog badly affected the movement of several trains in the region. He disclosed that Puja Express arrived 12 hours late at Jammu station, Amarnath Express was late by 6 hours, Malwa Express late by 4 hours; Hemkund, Humsafar and Superfast by three hours; Jammu Mail, Tata Muri, Jhelum and Sealdah late by two hours while Utter Sampark Kranti, Shri Shakti and Andman Express were late by an hour.
He further disclosed that departure of Puja Express was delayed by 7 hours and Andman Express by two hours at Jammu station. Due to rescheduling of time of the trains, huge rush of passengers was witnessed at the station.
The vehicular traffic has also been badly hit in Jammu, Akhnoor, Samba and Kathua areas while inter-state buses are also arriving late by 3-4 hours from various northern States in Jammu and Katra.
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