Kashmir was cut off fr♏om rest of the country for the second consecutive day on Tuesday as the arterial Jammu-Srinagar national highway and Mughal road remained closed, while air traffic was suspended due to snowfall across the valley.
Nearly 4,500 vehicles, mostly trucks cꦍarrying essentials to the valley, are stranded♐ along the highway at various places.
"The Jammu-Srinagar National Highway is closed due to accumulation of snow at many places, especially aroun♕d Jawahar Tunnel," an official of the traffic control department said.
He said snow clearan🦩ce operations were in full swing and efforts were on to restore movement of stranded vehicles along ꦍthe 260-kilometre road.
Mughal Road, which connects the valley to Jammu division through Shopian-Rajouri axis, has been closed for several days due to heavy snowfall in the🙈 region.
The officials said south Kashmir's Kulgam district received the highest snowfall with three to four 𝔍feet of snow accumulated at some places.
Anantnag district has also received heavy snowfall, they said. Srinagar city has witnessed moderate 🅰snowfall for the past three days but snow clearance operations have ensured that traffic moveme💯nt was going on.
Snow clearance operations have been ongoing along inter-district routes as well as 🐻major roads linking tehsil headquarters to district he🦩adquarters.
The administration has ensured that the essentialꦿ services are least affected by the snowfall in the city and elsewhere in the valley.
However, slippery roads have resulted⭕ in traffic jams in some places.
The flight operations to and from Srina🃏gar remained suspended for 🤡the second consecutive day due to poor visibility, the officials said.
The minimum temperature improved in most places in the valley due to the snowfall but still staye🎉d below the fr⛄eezing point, the officials said.
Srinagar city -- the summer capital o💜f Jammu and Kashmir -- recorded a low of minus 0.8 degrees Celsius -- up from the previous night's minus 0.9 degrees Celsius, they said.
The minimum temperature in Gulmarg tourist resort settled at minus 4 degrees Ceꦓlsius compared to minus 5 degrees Celsius a night earlier.
Pahalgam tourist re🍷sort, which also serves as a base camp for the annual Amarnath yatra in south Kashmir, recorded a low of minus 1ꦆ.1 degrees Celsius - up from minus 6.7 degrees Celsius on the previous night, the officials said.
Qazigund recorded a minimum of minus 0.2 degrees Celsius, Kupwa♛ra, in the north, minus 0.7 degrees Celsius and Kokernag, minus 1.0 degrees Celsius.
The MET Office s꧟aid moderate to heavy snowfall, with isolated very heavy snowfall, was most likely to take place, especially in south Kashmir, Gulmarg, Banihal-Ramban, Poonch, Rajouri, Kistawar and Zanskar, Drass as well as on the higher reaches of Ladakh UT, over next 24 hours.
Kashmir is currently under the grip of ''Chillai-Kalan'' -- the 40-day harshest winter period when a cold wave grips the region and the temperature drops considerably leading൲ to the freez💖ing of water bodies including the famous Dal Lake here as well as the water supply lines in several parts of the valley.
The ch🔴ances of snowfall are the most frequent and maximum during this period💜 and most areas, especially in the higher reaches, receive heavy snowfall.
While ''Chillai-Kalan'' - which began on December 21 -- will end on January 31, the cold wave continues even after that in Kashmir with a 20-day-long ''Chillai-Khurd'' (small cold) and a 10-day-long ''Chillai-Bachha'' (b🍸aby cold).
