Thick Fog Disrupts Life In Srinagar As Coldwave Grips Kashmir, Mercury Remains Below Zero

Most parts of the Valley including Srinagar saw a thick blanket of fog, reducing visibility and causing inconvenience to commuters.

A man walks along the banks of frozen Dal Lake in Srinagar as the 40-day harshest winter period in Kashmir, known as Chillai Kalan, began from Thursday. ( Image Source :PTI )

Amid severe cold conditions, a thick layer of fog engulfed Kashmir Valley on Monday affecting the smooth flow of traffic. A meteorological department official said that Srinagar recorded a low temperature of minus 2.3 degrees Celsius against minus 2.1 degrees Celsius on previous night and it was 0.3 degrees Celsius below normal for the summer capital of J&K for this time of the year.

Qazigund recorded a minimum of minus 2.6 degrees Celsius against minus 2.0 degrees Celsius on the previous night, he said. The minimum temperature was 0.6°C below normal for the gateway town of Kashmir, the MeT official said. 

Most parts of the Valley including Srinagar saw a thick blanket of fog, reducing visibility and causing inconvenience to commuters. A MeT official said that the minimum temperature was minus 2.6 and minus 4.3 in Gulmarg and Pahalgam respectively.

"Leh town in Ladakh region had minus 6.7 and Kargil minus 8.1 as the night’s lowest temperature. Jammu city had 7.3, Katra 8.1, Batote 5.9, Bhaderwah 2.4 and Banihal 6.2 as the minimum temperature," he said, quoted news agency IANS.

The 40-day-long period of harsh winter cold known locally as the ‘Chillai Kalan’ began here on December 21 and it will end on January 30.

Meanwhile, a blanket of fog enveloped most parts of Punjab and Haryana on Monday as cold weather conditions prevailed in the two states. The fog dropped visibility at many places in the two states. Sirsa, Bhiwani, Amritsar, Ludhiana and Patiala reported dense fog, according to a Met official here.

In Haryana, Narnaul recorded a minimum temperature of 6.4 degrees Celsius while the same in Rohtak's settled at 7.6 degrees. Fatehabad registered a minimum temperature of 7 degrees Celsius. In Punjab, the night temperatures were recorded at 6.5 degrees Celsius in Pathankot, 6.2 degrees in Bathinda, 7.5 degrees in Faridkot, 6.7 degrees in Gurdaspur, 7.2 degrees in Amritsar, 7.1 degrees in Ludhiana and 8.7 degrees in Patiala. Chandigarh, the common capital of the two states, recorded a low of 7.8 degrees Celsius.