No respite from cold weather conditions in Kashmir

Srinagar, Nov 24 (UNI) The night temperature in the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir plummeted further to minus 4 degree Celsius, recording the coldest night of this winter season so far, weather officials here said today.

Meanwhile, one Srinagar-bound flight of SpiceJet was cancelled today due to heavy fog cover here.

The Met office said the famed tourist resort of Pahalgam in Kashmir had yesterday experienced the coldest night of this winter after the minimum temperature dipped to minus 4.8 degree Celsius.

However, the night temperature there today stood at minus 4.4 degree Celsius, it added.

The dry spell continued in Kashmir, resulting in the significant decrease in the water level in River Jhelum and Dal, Wullar, Manasbal and other lakes.

The Kashmir valley had received scant or no rainfall for the past two-three months.

Absence of western disturbances and clear sky during day and night in Kashmir has resulted in the drop in night temperatures, the officials said.

The region had not witnessed any western disturbance, mainly responsible for causing rain and snowfall in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Jammu and Kashmir, from the Arabian Sea for the past few weeks.

They said there has been no report of any western disturbance hovering over Afghanistan and Pakistan. ''So, rainfall in the near future is ruled out because there is no moisture in the air.'' However, the Met officials said the weather remained almost dry from October to December in this part of the country.

Leh, Kargil and Drass, the second coldest place in the world after Siberia, also witnessed dry and biting cold weather. The temperature in these places was several degrees below normal.

As many as eight flights on Srinagar-Jammu and Srinagar-Delhi sectors were cancelled yesterday due to heavy fog here.

UNI