Jammu under grip of cold wave
*Ops of several flights affected in region
Gopal Sharma /Fayaz Bukhari
JAMMU/SRINAGAR, Jan 1: While air and train traffic was hit with the dense fog in Jammu region today, the Mughal Road and Sinthan Top Road, connecting Kashmir with the Jammu region besides some other parts in the Valley were closed for vehicular traffic, following fresh snowfall over night.
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The Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, however remained open for vehicular traffic, with commuters advised to prefer travel on the highway during daytime in view of the inclement weather.
“The Mughal Road and Sinthan Road are closed due to snow accumulation. About 3-5 inches snowfall has been experienced at Sinthan Pass and Pir Ki Gali. People are advised not to travel on these roads till they are fully restored,” a senior Traffic Police official said.
Both these routes connecting Kashmir valley’s Shopian and Anantnag districts with the Jammu region’s Poonch and Kishtwar districts were closed last night following snowfall at Peer Ki Gali and Sinthan Pass, he said.
The Jammu-Srinagar highway was open for vehicular traffic, but slow movement was observed due to single-lane traffic along Banihal Nallah, Dewal, Nashri and Dalwas and between Marog and Kishtwari Pather, he added.
“Passengers and light motor vehicle operators are advised to prefer travel on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway during daytime. They should also avoid night travel as the movement of heavy motor vehicles between the Nashri tunnel and Navyug tunnel may cause inconvenience to commuters,” he said.
The Srinagar-Sonamarg-Gumari road connecting Kashmir with Ladakh’s Kargil district was also closed for vehicular movement due to fresh snow accumulation, the official added.
As the rain lashed several areas of the Jammu region, it caused sharp drop in temperature. The cold wave has gripped the entire region. The road condition was also slippery at many places including Doda, Ramban, Banihal and Kishtwar.
Due to fog in the region, at least eight flights were delayed today, however, no flight was cancelled at Jammu Airport. Six Indigo and two other flights were affected with the dense fog today. The flight operation commenced after 12 noon as the visibility improved and total 28 flights operated, an Airport official said.
Several trains are also arriving late due to dense fog for the last couple of days. At least eight trains arrived late today at Jammu station, causing inconvenience to the yatris. It has also affected vehicular traffic in the region besides operation of inter-state buses.
A MeT official said that Jammu recorded a maximum temperature of 16.0 deg C, Bhaderwah a minimum temperature of 1.0 deg C, Banihal 3.9 deg C, Katra 8.7 while Batote a minimum temp of 3.7 deg C.
The official has predicted generally dry weather in the region from Jan 2 to 5. He said from Jan 6 it will remain generally cloudy with possibility of light snow over isolated higher reaches of J&K. From January 7 to Jan 15, the weather will remain generally cloudy.
Meanwhile, there was light snowfall at popular tourist destinations in Kashmir and in the hills across the region on the new year bringing joy to the tourists who are in these resorts for holidaying.
Tourist resorts of Gulmarg, Pahalgam, Sonamarg and Pir Ki Gali received overnight snowfall that continued till Thursday morning, attracting large numbers of visitors celebrating the New Year. Several high-altitude areas also recorded fresh snow, including Tulail valley in Gurez, Razdan Top in Bandipora, Macchil and Sadhna Top in Kupwara, Chandanwari in Pahalgam area and the strategic Zojila Pass in Ganderbal.
The snowfall was due to a western disturbance affecting the region which was likely to bring rain in the Valley but it didn’t.
The Weatherman said that conditions are expected to improve gradually. However, he added that a brief spell of light rain or snowfall could still occur at isolated places on Friday.
Due to persistent cloud cover, night temperatures across the Valley remained higher than the seasonal average, settling above the freezing point at most places. Despite the fresh snowfall in upper reaches, Kashmir continues to experience an unusually warm winter, with temperatures hovering between 1.2 degrees Celsius and 6.3 degrees Celsius above normal.
Srinagar recorded a minimum temperature of 2.2 degrees Celsius last night, which was 4.6 degrees Celsius above the average for this time of year.
Gulmarg, the coldest place in the region, saw the mercury dip to minus 5.5 degrees Celsius, around 2.5 degrees lower than the previous night.
Pahalgam recorded a minimum temperature of minus 0.4 degrees Celsius, which was 6.3 degrees above the normal, while Qazigund recorded a low of 2 degrees Celsius, nearly five degrees above the seasonal average.
The region is currently observing Chilla-e-Kalan, the harshest 40-day winter period marked by extreme cold and frequent snowfall. Traditionally, night temperatures during this phase drop several degrees below freezing, and snowfall is most frequent and intense.
However, the plains of the Valley have not received any snowfall so far this season, highlighting a marked departure from typical winter patterns during Chilla-e-Kalan and temperatures for the first 12 days of the chilly part of the winter also have been recorded above normal.
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