Srinagar-Jammu highway closed as snowfall continues across Kashmir

Weatherman predicts improvement from Tuesday evening

5 Dariya News

Srinagar 07-Jan-2020

Amid continuous fresh snow spell in Kashmir, the weatherman on Tuesday predicted improvement in the weather conditions from Wednesday, saying that from this evening,  weather would remain dry till Jan 11.According to the wire service Kashmir News Observer (KNO), the plains as well as the higher reaches of Kashmir received fresh snowfall  from the intervening night of Sunday-Monday, bringing the mercury further down in Kashmir.However, the night temperature witnessed improvement following the fresh snowfall in  Kashmir, officials in the local Meteorological (MeT) department said.Deputy Director MeT, Dr Mukhtar Ahmad said that the fresh snow spell in Kashmir would end by this evening.  “According to the prediction, the weather would remain cloudy on Wednesday with occasional sunshine,” he said.He further added that the weather would turn pleasant from  Thursday till January 11. Ahmad further stated that the night temperature would start decreasing from Wednesday, adding that it will settle below normal.Officials said that  Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir recorded a low of minus 0.5 degree Celsius on Monday night, adding that the ski-resort of Gulmarg recorded the low of  minus 6.0 degrees Celsius last night – 2.0 degrees up from Monday.Meanwhile, an official said that the flight operations to and from Srinagar Airport were going as per schedule.  However, the Srinagar-Jammu highway, the only road connecting Valley with rest of the country continued to remain closed for the second consecutive day today.The highway  was closed for the vehicular movement on Monday following slippery conditions of roads, triggered due to fresh snowfall in higher reaches on Sunday night. Notably, the 300 km  long road witnessed frequent closure from last few weeks after the higher reaches received fresh snowfall. (KNO)