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Intense cold, dense fog affects life in Kashmir
For the third consecutive day, dense fog affected life across parts of Kashmir on Wednesday. Residents woke up to find the Valley enveloped by a thick layer of fog which continued till noon when the conditions improved, and the atmosphere cleared up for some period.
For the third consecutive day, dense fog affected life across parts of Kashmir on Wednesday. Residents woke up to find the Valley enveloped by a thick layer of fog which continued till noon when the conditions improved, and the atmosphere cleared up for some period.
The foggy conditions affected the visibility, slowing down the traffic movement and business activities particularly in the capital Srinagar.
“The foggy conditions even affected the tourist plans. The shikara rowers were reluctant to take tourists for a joy ride on the lake owing to the cold and low visibility,” said a shikara owner, Tariq Ahmad.
The meteorological department said that the foggy conditions will continue for the next four days. “From December 28 to 31, generally dry weather is expected with moderate to dense fog over central Kashmir, plains of Baramulla in north Kashmir, and Pulwama in south Kashmir,” said director of the MeT centre in Srinagar, Mukhtar Ahmad.
There is, however, a possibility of light snowfall over higher reaches on the night of December 31, bringing cheer to the enthusiasts planning to celebrate the New Year eve in the ski resort of Gulmarg.
Since Monday, parts of Kashmir valley have been experiencing dense fog amid dry and cold weather conditions.
Kashmir’s harshest winter period, “Chilla-i-Kalan”, began last week with the mercury dropping several notches below the freezing point at many places.
The minimum night temperatures were below zero on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday as well in the Valley.
The southern Konibal area and Pahalgam tourist resort were the coldest at minus 6°C and minus 4.6°C respectively. The ski resort of Gulmarg in the north recorded a temperature of minus 2.8 °C, the only place having temperature some 3.4 notches higher than normal.
In Srinagar, the temperature was minus 2.6°C, 0.5 notches below normal for the summer capital.
The MeT update further said that the gateway to Kashmir in south Kashmir, Qazigund recorded a minimum of minus 3.2°C while the southern area of Kokernag observed a minimum of minus 2.2°C. In north Kashmir, Kupwara recorded a low of minus 4.2°C.
MeT director Mukhtar Ahmad has also forecast snowfall from January 3. “From January 3 to 4, cloudy weather with light rain/snowfall is expected at isolated to scattered places,” Ahmad said.
Kashmir’s winter pans out in three stages, starting with the 40-day intense period from December 21, followed by 20 days of comparatively less intense chill (Chilla-i-Khurd), and final 10 days of mild cold (Chill-e-Bache).
