Gopal Sharma
JAMMU, Jan 8: While higher reaches of Jammu and Kashmir experienced light snowfall since last night, dense fog in Jammu and plain areas of northern region has badly affected train and air-traffic.
Four flights were cancelled at Jammu airport due to dense fog and poor visibility while several morning flights were delayed today. However, total 15 incoming and 15 outgoing flights operated from Jammu airport today despite bad weather, Director AAI, S K Garg said.
A Northern Railways spokesman said that foggy weather has affected the movement of over 480 trains in the region.
“Around 335 trains have been delayed, 88 cancelled, 31 diverted and 33 short terminated due to foggy weather,” he added.
A blinding layer of dense fog enveloped northwest India and the adjoining central and eastern parts of the country, affecting road, rail and air traffic movement.
Very dense fog lowered visibility to 50 meters at the Palam observatory near the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport at 5:30 am, an official spokesman said.
According to the Weather office, very dense fog is when visibility is between 0 and 50 metres, between 51 and 200 metres is dense, between 201 and 500 metres moderate, and between 501 and 1,000 metres shallow.
At Jammu Railway Station Hemkund Express arrived 2 hours late, Shalimar Exp by 2 hrs 30 min late, Sealdah late by 9 hrs, Begumpura 9 hours, Archna Exp 10 hours, Himgiri 10 hrs, Malwa Exp 7 hours, Tata Moorie 7 hrs and Vande Bharat by one hour and 40 minutes.
There has been a slight improvement in day temperature in Jammu today while the night temperature has again remained 5 deg C on Sunday. The day temperature in Jammu was 12.4 deg Celsius today.
Katra town recorded a minimum temperature of 10.2 degree C, Bhaderwah town 4.0 deg C, Batote, 6.9 deg C and Banihal 3.4 degree C temperature today.
Report from Srinagar said that some areas in the higher reaches of Kashmir received light snowfall as the minimum temperature settled close to the freezing point at most places in the Valley, providing a slight relief to the people from the intense cold, officials said.
The Meteorological department has forecast moderate snowfall at many places in the higher reaches and light snowfall in the plains from Sunday evening.
There was light snowfall in some areas in the higher reaches like Gulmarg, and Sonamarg-Zojila axis.
Srinagar recorded a low of minus 0.1 degrees Celsius Saturday night-up from minus 1.4 degrees the night before, they said.
Qazigund, registered a minimum of minus 1.3 degrees Celsius, while Kokernag in south Kashmir recorded a low of minus 1.6 degrees, the official said.
The mercury in Kupwara, a frontier district, settled above the freezing point at a low of minus 0.4 degrees.
The tourist resort of Pahalgam in Anantnag district, which also serves as a base camp for the annual Amarnath Yatra, registered a low of minus 1.4 degrees Celsius — up from minus 2.8 degrees.
The minimum temperature in Gulmarg, the famous ski resort in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, recorded a minus 3.4 degrees Celsius.
The MeT office said moderate snowfall is very likely to occur at many places over the higher reaches. The plains in the valley are expected to receive light to moderate snow.
Light snowfall with rains in plains of Jammu, are likely to occur at many places in Jammu and Kashmir, it said.
While the weather will stay cloudy on Tuesday and Wednesday, widespread moderate snowfall, with rains in plains of Jammu and heavy snowfall over the higher reaches, is possible over two days after that, the MeT office said.
Kashmir is currently under the grip of ‘Chilla-i-Kalan’, the 40-day harshest weather period when the chances of snowfall are maximum and most frequent.
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