Dense Fog Hits Kashmir Air Traffic, All Flights Cancelled At Srinagar Airport; Night Temperature Plunges Across Valley

While more than 50 flights were scheduled on Sunday, as many as 11,169 passengers arrived or departed from the airport on 63 flights on Saturday.

Srinagar: The Airport Authority in Srinagar has cancelled all flights from the airport today (Jan 5, 2024) due to dense fog reducing visibility for the planes to take off.

Director Srinagar Airport Javaid Anjum told ETV Bharat that all flights have been cancelled due to dense fog. “All scheduled flights for the day are cancelled as low visibility made it impossible for aircraft to land or take off,” the director said.

While more than 50 flights were scheduled on Sunday, a day earlier, as many as 11,169 passengers arrived or departed from the airport on 63 flights, the officials said, adding that 5337 passengers arrived on 31 flights and 5832 passengers departed on 32 flights.

One flight was cancelled on Friday due to fog hovering around the airport, while 61 flights operated to and fro from the airport on the same day.

Kashmir is reeling under 'Chillai Kalan', the harshest period of winter, which witnessed the initial weeks of dry weather followed by two days of snowfall in the last week of December last year. The Meteorological department has forecasted snowfall in Kashmir on January 5 and 6, while rainfall in Jammu.

Night temperature dips in Kashmir, Kokernag coldest at minus 8.1

The night temperature in the valley dipped sharply, with Kokernag town in south Kashmir freezing at minus 8.1 degrees Celsius, officials said on Sunday. In Srinagar, the mercury settled at a low of minus 2.5 degrees Celsius, the Met said.

Gulmarg, a tourist resort town known for skiing activities in north Kashmir, recorded a low of minus 4 degrees Celsius. Pahalgam, one of the base camps for the annual Amarnath Yatra in south Kashmir, registered a minimum temperature of minus 3.2 degrees Celsius.

Qazigund, the gateway town to Kashmir, logged a minimum temperature of minus 3.6 degrees Celsius while Konibal in Pampore town recorded a low of minus 3.5 degrees. Kupwara in north Kashmir registered a night temperature of minus 2.8 degrees Celsius while Kokernag in south Kashmir recorded a low of minus 8.1 degrees and was the coldest place on record in the valley.

Chillai Kalan -- the harshest period of winter -- began in Kashmir on December 21. During the 40-day phase, the chances of snowfall are the highest and the temperature drops considerably. 'Chillai-Kalan' ends on January 30.

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