Jammu, Jan 12 (PTI) Bone-chilling cold tightened its grip on Jammu on Monday as the city recorded the coldest day and night temperatures of the season, disrupting normal life and forcing the cancellation
of five flights at Jammu airport due to dense fog and poor visibility, officials said.
Jammu recorded a maximum temperature of 9.6 degrees Celsius, nearly eight notches below the seasonal average, while the minimum dipped to 3.4 degrees Celsius, around 3.5 notches below normal, marking the lowest temperature recorded in the city this season, an official of the meteorological department said.
He said Jammu city was colder than most recorded places in Jammu and Kashmir, with Banihal town—the gateway to the Kashmir Valley—much warmer at 19.3 degrees Celsius, followed by Srinagar at 12.4 degrees Celsius and even the famous Pahalgam hill resort in south Kashmir at 10.8 degrees Celsius.
Katra, the base camp for the pilgrims visiting Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine in Reasi district recorded a high of 15.5 degrees Celsius and a low of 5.0 degrees Celsius.
Scenes of people huddling around bonfires were witnessed at various places across Jammu as residents tried to keep themselves warm after waking up to dense fog in the morning.
Severe cold was witnessed a day before Lohri, a popular festival in Jammu which marks the end of winter and the onset of longer days after the Winter Solstice. It also coincides with the harvesting season of Rabi crops.
An airport official said that of the 36 scheduled flights to and from Jammu airport, five were cancelled while eight others were delayed due to poor visibility.
The cancelled flights included Delhi–Jammu–Delhi, Srinagar–Jammu–Delhi, Leh–Jammu–Leh, Delhi–Jammu–Srinagar and another Delhi–Jammu–Delhi service. PTI TAS NB
