The Kashmir valley is experiencing one of the coldest winters in recent years, as the mercury continues to dip below zero and dense fog covers the region. According to an independent observer, Ganderbal, Bandipora, and Budgam recorded the lowest temperature of the season at minus 6.7°C on Friday. The Meteorological centre Srinagar said that Srinagar settled on minus 3.3°C for the second consecutive day on Friday. It was 1.2°C below normal for the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir during this period of the season.
The maximum temperature recorded 0.5°C above normal of 7.9°C against 8.4°C in Srinagar the previous day. However, this did not bring any relief to the people, as the visibility remained low due to the thick fog. Pahalgam remained the coldest place and recorded a low of minus 5.4°C on Friday against the minus 5.2°C recorded the previous night. It was minus 0-2°C below normal for the tourist host spot of south Kashmir.
The freezing cold and the fog have severely affected the normal life in the valley, as many people have preferred to stay indoors. The traffic movement, flight operations, and business activities have also been disrupted by the harsh weather conditions. The authorities have advised the people to take precautions and avoid unnecessary travel. The weather generally will remain dry with moderate to dense fog over Central Kashmir, Plains of Baramulla, Ganderbal and Pulwama district till end of the month, the MeT office said. (with UNI inputs)