Road, air traffic hit by snowfall in Kashmir, avalanche warning issued for hilly areas

Srinagar, Feb 4 (PTI) Snowfall across the Kashmir Valley affected normal life on Sunday with all flights cancelled at Srinagar airport, officials said.

The plains of Kashmir saw moderate snowfall, while heavy snowfall has been reported in the higher reaches, they said.

Authorities are clearing snow from roads so that vehicular movement is possible, they said. But traffic movement was slow as the roads are slippery. The snowfall has forced the cancellation of all inbound and outbound flights from Srinagar airport for the day.

Authorities have issued avalanche warnings for hilly and mountainous areas of Kashmir, urging the residents to avoid unnecessary movement for the next 24 hours.

The snowfall has resulted in a rise in the minimum temperatures but the day temperatures have fallen in most places of the valley.

As per the MeT department forecast, the weather is expected to improve in Kashmir from Tuesday onwards.

Qazigund town in south Kashmir was the warmest place on Saturday, recording a high of 3.2 degrees Celsius followed by Kokernag at 3.1 degrees Celsius.

The mercury in Gulmarg skiing resort in north Kashmir has stayed several degrees below freezing point for the past 72 hours with a low minus 7.0 degrees Celsius recorded on Sunday.

Pahalgam in south Kashmir, which serves as the base camp for the annual Amarnath Yatra, recorded a low of minus 3.5 degrees Celsius.

Kokernag and Qazigund towns in south Kashmir recorded a low of minus 2.2 degrees Celsius and minus 3.0 degrees Celsius respectively, the officials said.

Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, recorded a low of minus 0.7 degrees Celsius.

Although 'Chilla-i-Kalan' -- the 40-day harshest winter period -- ended earlier this week, the cold wave has continued in Kashmir.

The valley is currently going through a 20-day-long 'Chilla-i-Khurd' (small cold) which shall be followed by a 10-day 'Chilla-i-Bachha' (baby cold). PTI