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Kashmir: IMD issues avalanche warning for hilly areas; air, road traffic affected by snowfall
IMD Sunday issued an avalanche warning for hilly and mountainous areas of Kashmir amid snowfall across the valley affecting normal life with all flights cancelled at Srinagar airport. Residents are strongly urged to avoid travelling to avalanche-prone areas for the next 24 hours
India Meteorological Department (IMD) Sunday issued an avalanche warning for hilly and mountainous areas of Kashmir amid snowfall across the valley affecting normal life with all flights cancelled at Srinagar airport. The danger level is assessed as medium, and residents are strongly urged to exercise caution, avoiding travel to avalanche-prone areas for the next 24 hours.
The snowfall has forced the cancellation of all inbound and outbound flights from Srinagar airport for the day.
“All the flights have been cancelled for the day due to bad weather at Srinagar," PTI quoted an Airport Authority of India official as saying.
The official said the snowfall, which began late Saturday night, had stopped briefly early in the morning, allowing clearance of the runway.
"However, the snowfall started again before any flights could operate," he added.
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“Due to a drastic change in the weather conditions, the runway at Srinagar and Leh have been closed. This has led to the cancellation of 4 IndiGo flights to Srinagar and 2 IndiGo flights to Leh. The Passengers have been informed and refreshments were served. The option of a full refund, reschedule, or alternate sector travel was also provided. We regret the inconvenience caused to all our passengers,” the budget airline IndiGo said in a statement.
The plains of Kashmir have registered moderate snowfall, while heavy snowfall has been reported in the higher reaches. Road transport is also affected by the snowfall. Authorities are clearing snow from roads so that vehicular movement is possible.
The weather department has predicted light to moderate widespread rainfall/snowfall accompanied by thunder-storm and lightning at isolated places is very likely over Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh, Gilgit, Baltistan & Muzaffarabad, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand on February 4 and decreasing to isolated to scattered rainfall/snowfall on February 5 and 6. The IMD forecasted dry weather thereafter.
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Though the snowfall has resulted in a rise in the minimum temperatures, the day temperatures have fallen in most places of the valley.
The IMD said the weather in Kashmir is expected to improve from Tuesday onwards.
According to the weather department, 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 of 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.
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Business NewsNewsIndiaKashmir: IMD issues avalanche warning for hilly areas; air, road traffic affected by snowfall
First Published:4 Feb 2024, 05:24 PM IST
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