Snow and rain lash Valley, high wave alert in coasts
Snowfall, rain and heavy wind lashed different parts of north India on Friday, resulting in a drop in temperatures and an avalanche warning being sounded.
The authorities also issued a high-wave warning for Saturday and Sunday, asking those staying in the coastal areas to be cautious.
SRINAGAR/AMRITSAR/THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
SNOWFALL, RAIN IN J&K
Gulmarg and other areas in the higher reaches of Kashmir received fresh snowfall on the day while the plains in the Valley, including the summer capital Srinagar, received rainfall.
Fresh snowfall has been recorded in Gulmarg – the famous ski-resort in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, an official of the Meteorological Department here said. “In the last 12 hours, fresh snowfall has occurred in Zojila Pass, Drass and other higher reaches,” the Meteorological Department said on Friday morning.
The plains in the Valley were lashed by rains which have brought down the maximum temperature below the normal for this part of the season, a Met official said and added that the minimum temperature was 8.6° Celsius in Srinagar, 4.4 °C in Pahalgam and 0°C in Gulmarg. AVALANCHE WARNING The Kashmir divisional administration has issued an avalanche warning for hilly an areas of the valley and Ladakh region.
Amritsar airport building damaged
High-velocity winds damaged different parts of the Sri Guru Ram Das Jee International Airport building in Amritsar.
On early Friday, strong gust of wind broke a few of the airport’s window panes and also damaged its ceiling. Sources, however, said the monetary loss was not too high.
HIGH-WAVE WARNING The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Service (INCOIS) warned that waves reaching up to three metres of heigh were likely to lash coastal areas with low-lying stretches of Kerala and West Bengal being most vulnerable. High energy waves will be first experienced in the western coast of the country and Lakshadweep by Saturday morning and subsequently in the Bay of Bengal by Sunday, it said.
“No panic is needed but people living along the coastal areas will have to exercise maximum caution. High energy swell of waves are slowly building up and moving towards the sub-continent,” said INCOIS’s Balakirshnan Nair
The Kerala government has also issued an advisory to fishermen and coastal communities, asking them to ensure that boats are moored with sufficient distance between them to prevent damage from collusion. It has also advised tourists to stay off from the beaches.