Srinagar: At least 15 flights were cancelled at Srinagar International Airport on Sunday due to snowfall in the higher reaches of the Kashmir Valley and rain in the plains.
Officials said that 15 flights from Srinagar International Airport have been cancelled since Sunday morning due to inclement weather. An airport spokesperson said that two flights were cancelled in the morning and 13 in the afternoon due to the bad weather.
In addition, two other flights bound for Srinagar were also cancelled due to adverse weather conditions at Jammu and Delhi airports. They said that four flights were waiting on the apron (parking area) at Srinagar airport for departure, while two flights were scheduled to arrive later in the day. The airport authorities clarified that the resumption of flight operations at the airport would entirely depend on an improvement in the weather.
It is worth noting that with the beginning of the 40-day period of intense winter, ‘Chilla-i-Kalan’, in the Kashmir Valley today, light to moderate snowfall is occurring in the higher reaches and rain in the plains. Authorities have also closed the Srinagar-Kargil highway and the Mughal Road in Shopian and advised people to exercise caution in the higher reaches due to the risk of landslides and mudslides.
An official of the Meteorological Department said that the minimum temperature in Srinagar on Sunday was recorded at four degrees Celsius, which is six degrees above normal. Gulmarg in North Kashmir was the only weather station where the mercury dropped below freezing point. The minimum temperature there was recorded at minus 1.5 degrees Celsius, which is five degrees above the normal temperature for this time of year.
At all other weather stations, including Pahalgam in Anantnag district of South Kashmir, the minimum temperature ranged between 2.5 and 3.8 degrees Celsius. Meanwhile, flight operations are facing significant disruptions in the national capital Delhi due to fog. Weather experts believe that the weather will change with increasing cold and snowfall in the Kashmir Valley.
