Dense fog envelops parts of Valley, mercury dips below freezing point

Dense fog blanketed parts of Kashmir on Sunday morning, as the mercury slipped below freezing point at several places in the valley following fresh snowfall a day earlier, officials said.

“The visibility in Srinagar and some other places of Kashmir dropped below 50 metres at day break due to heavy fog,” an official said.

Motorists faced difficulties navigating due to poor visibility, the official said. However, flight operations at Srinagar International Airport remained unaffected, according to an Airports Authority of India official.

Fresh snowfall on Saturday caused temperatures to fall below freezing point last night at several places across the Valley. The Srinagar Airport Force station, situated at a higher altitude, was the coldest recorded place in the Valley at minus 3.6 degrees Celsius.

Srinagar city logged a minimum temperature of minus 1.3 degrees, an official of the Meteorological department said.

He said that Gulmarg, a tourist destination popular for skiing, recorded a low of minus 2.6 degrees while Pahalgam in South Kashmir was warmer at minus 0.3 degrees Celsius.

Qazigund, the gateway town to the Valley, recorded a low of minus 1.8 degrees Celsius and Kupwara registered a minimum of minus 0.5 degrees Celsius.

The weather is expected to be partly cloudy with light rain or snow at isolated places in the higher reaches later in the day, the Met Department said.

From December 2, there are chances of light rain or snow at scattered places in the higher reaches over two days, the department said.

The weather is likely to stay generally dry from December 4 to 7, after which light rain or snow is possible at isolated places in the higher reaches on December 8, the weather office said.