In Photos: White Blanket of Snow Covers Kashmir Valley

Normal life was thrown out of gear as the Kashmir Valley was hit by
fresh snowfall on Saturday, 8 January. While the plains of Jammu witnessed heavy rains, people were forced to stay indoors without electricity as road links were snapped at many places.

Meanwhile, flight operations were disrupted at the Srinagar airport due to heavy snowfall and poor visibility.

A white blanket of snow covered Kashmir as all parts of the valley received
moderate to heavy snowfall, leading to the closure of roads. Snowfall
began late on Friday night, 7 January, in most parts of Kashmir and just after midnight in Srinagar city.

While two to three inches of snow had accumulated in Srinagar by daybreak, the hilly areas of the valley received snowfall between one feet and three feet.

On Saturday afternoon, all incoming and outgoing flights to Srinagar
airport were cancelled due to poor visibility. Srinagar-Leh National
Highway and Mughal Road were reportedly closed for traffic due to
landslides triggered by the snowfall.

The weatherman has forecast more snowfall in the next few hours and
has issued an orange color weather warning.

“Expect gradual decrease in rain/snow intensity from this evening
(8 January). There will be significant improvement in weather from
9 January onwards in J&K,” the official said.

Earlier the weatherman had issued an orange warning for 8 January.

There are four types of colour codes signifying the level of caution:
green, which means no action, yellow (situation to be watched),
orange (government agencies need to be prepared for severe weather) and red (action needed by the agencies).

The MeT (Meteorological) Department Official said the weather system may affect surface and air transportation, mainly on Saturday. “It may cause an avalanche/landslide in vulnerable spots.”

The MeT office has urged people not to venture in avalanche-prone
areas, follow traffic advisory seriously as well as maintain proper
ventilation of their rooms.

Kashmir is presently under the grip of a 40-day long harshest period of
winter, known locally as ‘Chillai Kalan, which started from 21 December. It is followed by a 20-day long ‘Chillai Khurd’ and a 10-day-long
‘Chilla Bachha’.