Night temperatures rise in Kashmir after snowfall

Flight operations resume

Srinagar: Night temperatures across Kashmir rose by several degrees following overnight snowfall, but the mercury remained below the freezing point, officials said on Monday.
The minimum temperature in Srinagar settled at minus 0.5 degrees Celsius, two degrees above the previous night's minus 2.5 degrees, the Meteorological Department said.
Gulmarg, a tourist resort town known for skiing activities in north Kashmir, recorded a low of minus 4.5 degrees Celsius, unchanged from the previous night, it said.
In Pahalgam, one of the base camps for the annual Amarnath Yatra in south Kashmir, the minimum temperature rose to minus 1.4 degrees Celsius from 3.2 degrees the night before, the weather office said.
Qazigund, the gateway town to the valley, logged a low of zero degrees Celsius while Konibal in Pampore town registered a minimum temperature of minus 1.0 degrees, it added.
Kupwara in north Kashmir recorded a minimum of minus 0.3 degrees Celsius while Kokernag in south Kashmir saw the mercury settle at minus 0.4 degrees Celsius -- a sharp rise from previous night's minus 8.1 degrees Celsius the department said.
Kashmir is currently in the grip of 'Chillai-Kalan' -- the harshest period of winter -- that began on December 21. During the 40 days of 'Chillai-Kalan', the chances of snowfall are the highest and the temperature drops considerably.
'Chillai-Kalan' ends on January 30, followed by a 20-day 'Chillai-Khurd' (small cold), and a 10-day 'Chillai-Bachha' (baby cold).
Flight operations at the Srinagar International Airport, disrupted on Monday due to heavy overnight snowfall in the Kashmir valley, have resumed, officials said.
"Operations at the Srinagar airport have resumed with the first flight arriving from Amritsar," an Airports Authority of India (AAI) official said.
The flights were delayed early on Monday following heavy overnight snowfall, and men and machinery worked to clear the snow from the runaway.
"The snow clearance operations are in progress at the runway. All airlines have pushed their flights after 9:30 am," the AAI official had earlier said.
The airport's operations were hit by dense fog on Saturday and Sunday, leading to flight delays, diversions and cancellations.