Snowfall in Kashmir valley disrupts flight operations at Srinagar airport

All flights to and from Srinagar airport in Kashmir were cancelled on Sunday due to snowfall in the valley, officials said here.

"All the flights have been cancelled for the day due to bad weather at Srinagar," an official of the Airport Authority of India said.

The official said the snowfall, which began late Saturday night, had stopped briefly early in the morning, allowing clearance of the runway.

"However, the snowfall started again before any flights could operate," he added.

The plains of Kashmir are witnessing moderate snowfall while heavy snowfall has been reported in the higher reaches of the valley.

Snow clearance operations are being carried out since early hours to ensure that the roads are traffic worthy.

Authorities have advised motorists to drive carefully in view of the slippery roads.

Notably, several parts of Kashmir, including Srinagar city, witnessed fresh snowfall on Saturday as the MeT department has forecast moderate top-heavy snowfall in the valley over the next 48 hours.

While it started snowing early in Saturday morning in the higher reaches of Kashmir, the plains of the valley also witnessed snowfall as the day progressed, officials said.

Gulmarg skiing resort in north Kashmir recorded a low of minus 10.6 degrees Celsius, up by 1.4 degrees from the previous night's minus 12.0 degrees Celsius, the officials said.

Pahalgam tourist resort in south Kashmir, which serves as the base camp for the annual Amarnath yatra, recorded a low of minus 8.3 degrees Celsius, up from minus 11.9 degrees Celsius the previous night.

Kokernag and Qazigund towns in south Kashmir both recorded a low of minus 5.4 degrees Celsius, the officials said.

Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, recorded a low of minus 1.7 degrees Celsius.

On Friday, the mercury had nosedived across Kashmir with unofficial data suggesting that Larnoo town in south Kashmir Anantnag district had recorded minus 17.1 degrees Celsius followed by Sonamarg resort on the Srinagar-Leh highway which recorded a low of minus 15.1 degrees Celsius.

Although 'Chilla-i-Kalan' -- the 40-day harshest winter period -- ended earlier this week, the cold wave has continued in Kashmir.

The valley is currently going through a 20-day-long 'Chilla-i-Khurd' (small cold) which shall be followed by a 10-day 'Chilla-i-Bachha' (baby cold).