Srinagar: Most places in Kashmir on Friday witnessed moderate to heavy snowfall as authorities issued an alert for avalanche-prone areas of it, officials said.
An official of the MET department said moderate snowfall was reported from most areas of Kashmir.
“The intensity of the snowfall is going to be heavy tonight and tomorrow. The weather is likely to improve from Sunday,” the official said.
The snowfall, which began late in the afternoon, forced cancellation of several flights to Srinagar airport, they said.
Of the 37 scheduled flights, 23 had operated till the snowfall began, they said.
Meanwhile, IMD on Friday issued a red alert for heavy to very heavy snowfall in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Indian Meteorological Department, in a statement predicted further increase in rain/snow intensity as the day progresses with main intensity of heavy to very heavy rain/snow during Friday night and on Saturday.
The statement said that there would be gradual improvement from January 9th morning onwards in J&K.
MET Srinagar office warned the weather system may affect surface and air transportation, mainly on Saturday.
“It may cause avalanche/landslide in vulnerable spots,” it said while urging people not to venture in avalanche prone areas, follow traffic advisory seriously as well as maintain proper ventilation of their rooms.
Meanwhile, minimum temperature in most places of valley stayed close to the freezing point, officials said here on Friday.
Srinagar recorded a minimum temperature of 2.6 degrees Celsius, up from 0.3 degrees Celsius on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday, officials said.
Gulmarg, the famous skiing resort in north Kashmir, recorded a low of minus 5.5 degrees Celsius compared to the previous night’s 3.5 degrees Celsius.
The officials said Pahalgam recorded a low of minus 0.4 degrees Celsius, slightly up from minus 0.8 degrees Celsius the previous night.
They said Qazigund recorded a minimum temperature of 0.4 degrees Celsius, while the nearby south Kashmir town of Kokernag recorded a low of minus 0.2 degrees Celsius.
The mercury at Kupwara in north Kashmir settled at a low of 0.8 degrees Celsius.
Jammu, with 4.6 mm of rain, recorded a low of 11.1°C, up eight notches from the previous night and normal of 7.3°C for the J&K’s winter capital during this time of the year.
