SRINAGAR: The weather again turned pleasant as bright sunshine greeted people in the summer capital, Srinagar, and other parts of Kashmir valley ahead of prediction of fresh spell of rain and snow from Monday onwards.
However, the night temperature dipped though settled several degrees above normal across the valley, where the weather during the day on Saturday was chilly due to overcast conditions. World famous ski resort of Gulmarg and tourist resort of Pahalgam were the only two places in the valley where the mercury settled below freezing point.
A Met department spokesperson said that weather will remain dry during the next 24 hours in Kashmir valley. However, he said a fresh Western Disturbance (WD), which originated from the Arabian Sea and is approaching the region though Afghanistan and Pakistan, will hit Jammu & Kashmir on Monday.
“Under the influence of this WD, light to moderate rain and snow is predicted on Monday and Tuesday at many places,” he said, adding the system will further build up and the wet weather is expected to continue till Saturday.
After witnessing a dip of about 2 degree in the night temperature, people woke up to a chilly Sunday morning in Srinagar. Against 3.6 degree recorded on Saturday, the night temperature in the city dipped and settled at 1.4 degree, which is above normal. However, as the day progressed sun came out, resulting in major improvement in the day temperature. The sun played hide and seek in the afternoon, but the weather remained pleasant most of the day in the city, where people were seen basking in the sun in parks, balconies and open fields. The maximum temperature recorded on Saturday in the city was about 4 degree above normal.
Gulmarg, which is covered under several feet of snow, also witnessed pleasant weather as bright sunshine greeted tourists, including adventure lovers. The mercury during the night at Gulmarg, which is known for its ski slopes and quality of snow, dipped slightly and settled at minus 0.5 degree, which is 6 degree above normal. “Tourists, particularly adventure lovers, are out on ski slopes, enjoying different snow related activities on a sunny day,” a hotelier from Gulmarg said over the phone.
Weather remained pleasant at world famous tourist of Pahalgam, which is under several feet of snow. However, the night temperature at the resort, about 100 km from here in south Kashmir, dipped 3 degree from Saturday and settled at minus 1.8 degree, which is 2 degree above normal.
The mercury at Qazigund, gateway to the valley, Kupwara in north Kashmir and tourist resort of Kukernag dipped and settled at zero degree, 0.2 degree and 1.5 degree, respectively.
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