Agency
SRINAGAR: Many parts of Kashmir were engulfed in a thick layer of fog this morning even as the minimum temperature went down at most places in the Valley where there is a forecast for isolated rainfall on Wednesday.
A dense layer of fog covered many areas of the Valley, including summer capital Srinagar, affecting visibility as motorists negotiated the roads with caution in the poor light.
There was no fog, however, around the airport on the outskirts of the city. “There is no fog this side and flight operations went on normally,” said an official at Srinagar International Airport.
The mercury in Srinagar dropped by nearly two degrees from a low of minus 0.8 degrees Celsius the previous night to settle at a low of minus 2.5 degrees, said a Meteorological (MeT) Department spokesperson.
There was a dip by nearly three notches in the minimum at the famous tourist resort of Pahalgam, which serves as the base camp during the annual Amarnath Yatra, he added.
The mercury settled at minus 4.9 degrees at Pahalgam as against the previous night’s temperature of minus 2.1 degrees, the spokesperson said.
There was a drop of 1.6 degrees in the night temperature in north Kashmir’s Kupwara town as it recorded a low of minus 3.1 degrees. Kokernag in south Kashmir registered a low of minus 2.2 degrees as compared to the previous night’s temperature of minus 1.4 degrees, the spokesperson added.
While the minimum temperature stayed at minus 2.8 degrees, same as the previous night in Qazigund, the gateway town of Kashmir Valley; the mercury rose by a degree at the ski- resort of Gulmarg, which recorded a low of minus 5 degrees.
In the frontier region of Ladakh, Leh recorded a low of minus 13.2 degrees while nearby Kargil town registered a minimum of minus 12.4 degrees, over two notches up from the previous night’s temperature of minus 14.8 degrees.
Leh was the coldest recorded place in Jammu and Kashmir, the spokesperson said.
The MeT office said there is a possibility of isolated rainfall in the plains of the Valley today while the higher reaches may receive light snowfall.
Kashmir is in the midst of the 40-day-long harshest phase of winter, which began on December 21 and will continue till the end of this month.
Known locally as ‘Chillai-Kalan’, the chance of snowfall is most frequent and maximum during this period. The 40-day period is followed by a 20-day ‘Chillai-Khurd’ (small cold) and a 10-day ‘Chillai Bachha’ (baby cold).