Srinagar: Many parts of Kashmir were engulfed in a thick layer of fog on Monday even as the minimum temperature went down at most places in the Valley.
Kl image by Bilal Bahadur
A dense layer of fog covered many areas of the Valley, including summer capital Srinagar, affecting visibility as motorists negotiated the roads with caution in the poor light.
There was no fog, however, around the airport on the outskirts of the city. “There is no fog this side and flight operations went on normally,” said an official at Srinagar International Airport.
The mercury in Srinagar dropped and the minimum temperature in Srinagar city was minus 4.2 degrees Celsius said a Meteorological (MeT) Department spokesperson.
The mercury settled at minus 6.5 degrees at Pahalgam and the mercury dropped by a degree at the ski- resort of Gulmarg, which recorded a low of minus 5.5 degrees.
While the minimum temperature stayed at minus 3.6 degrees, same as the previous night in Qazigund, the gateway town of Kashmir Valley;
In the frontier region of Ladakh, Leh recorded a low of minus 8.1 degrees while nearby Kargil town registered a minimum of minus 7.1 degrees.
Leh remains to continue the coldest recorded place in Jammu and Kashmir, the spokesperson said.
The MeT office said there is no possibility of rainfall in the plains of the Valley on Monday while the higher reaches may receive light snowfall and rains.
Kashmir is in the 40-day-long harshest phase of winter, which began on December 21 and will continue till the end of January.
Known locally as ‘Chillai-Kalan’, the chance of snowfall is most frequent and maximum during this period. The 40-day period is followed by a 20-day ‘Chillai-Khurd’ (small cold) and a 10-day ‘Chillai Bachha’ (baby cold).
