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Flight services resume at Srinagar airport as weather improves
Normal life resumed to a large extent in Kashmir and flights operated normally at the Srinagar airport on Sunday following improvement in wet weather conditions in Jammu and Kashmir
Normal life resumed to a large extent in Kashmir and flights operated normally at the Srinagar International Airport on Sunday following improvement in wet weather conditions in Jammu and Kashmir after five days of rain and snowfall. However, the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway was still closed for traffic.
Officials said that flights landed early at the Srinagar airport as the weather improved by and large across the Valley.
“After a full day of snowfall and no operations, first flight lands at our airport on Sunday,” said the Srinagar airport in a tweet.
It said that since January 4, as many as 268 flights were cancelled of which 134 cancellations were from Srinagar only. “The passengers of all those flights are being accommodated now. The new bookings will open after clearing the backlog,” airport officials said.
In the evening, Srinagar airport officials said 28 flights operated while five were cancelled.
The traffic on the Srinagar-Jammu Highway was yet to resume owing to the closure of the 270-km road due to snowfall and landslides at multiple places.
“The road is still closed after landslides had blocked it at Shaitan nullah, Ramsu and Cafeteria Turn. The work to clear it is going on,” said an official of the traffic control room.
The J&K’s weather office said that the wet conditions improved across the union territory.
“As expected, the weather improved significantly in J&K,” said the director of J&K’s meteorological department.
He said there may be light rain or snow at scattered places of J&K, especially over eastern parts during the next 24 to 48 hours after which things will improve further for the next one week.
“Thereafter, the weather is likely to remain dry till Jan 16,” he said.
Lotus said that they expect a gradual rise in day temperatures and a fall in night temperatures. “Next week is going to have warmer days and colder nights,” he said.
The weather office, however, issued a warning of avalanches in snowbound areas. “Although snowfall has stopped, the threat of avalanches still exists in snowbound areas. So, people are once again requested not to venture out in avalanche-prone areas and remain cautious especially for the next 1-2 days,” it said.
Kashmir is under the grip of Chilai Kalan, the Valley’s harshest over 40-day winter period which started on Dec 21.
Except in the summer capital Srinagar where mercury settled at 0.3 degrees Celsius, the minimum night temperatures in all other weather stations in Kashmir valley dropped below zero during the night.
The meteorological department said that the mercury plunged lowest in the ski resort of Gulmarg to settle at -10.0 degrees Celsius.
In the mountain resort of Pahalgam in south Kashmir the mercury recorded -1.8 degrees Celsius during the night.
It was -2.3 in Kokernag, -0.6°C in Kupwara, -0.5 °C in Konibal and -0.4°C in Qazigund,
In the union territory of Ladakh, Drass recorded lowest of -7.3°C while it was -8.2°C in Leh during the night.
Kashmir’s winter pans out in three stages starting with harsh period of Chillai Kalan from Dec 21 which brings most of the snowfall and sub-zero temperatures during the season followed by 20 more days from February 1 which are less intense (called Chillai Khurd) and then lastly 10 days of mild cold (Chille Bache).
