SRINAGAR : The minimum temperatures in Kashmir Valley dropped by around a degree, while the mercury plunged by five notches in Ladakh region as the cold wave tightened its grip.
“A fresh western disturbance is likely to affect Jammu and Kashmir from January 20 onwards,” a spokesman of the MeT department said adding that the weather in the state would likely remain dry till the time.
Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, registered a dip of a degree in the night temperature which settled at minus 3.3 degrees Celsius compared to minus 2.3 degrees Celsius the previous night, the spokesman said.
Qazigund, the gateway town to Kashmir Valley in south, recorded a low of minus 4.4 degrees Celsius, as against the previous night’s minus 3.8 degrees Celsius.
The mercury in south Kashmir hill resort of Pahalgam, which also serves as a base-camp for the annual Amarnath yatra, recorded a minimum of minus 6.2, down from the previous night’s low of minus 5.6 degrees Celsius, he said.
The famous ski-resort of Gulmarg, the star attraction for tourists visiting the valley during winter, was the coldest recorded place in the Valley with a minimum of minus 7.4 degrees Celsius – down by over one degree from the previous night’s minus 6.2 degrees Celsius, the spokesman said.
The night temperatures in Kupwara, in North Kashmir, and Kokernag, in south, went down by around a degree each to settle at low of minus 4.7 degrees Celsius and minus 1.6 degrees Celsius respectively.
Leh town, in the frontier Ladakh region, recorded a minimum of minus 15.1 degrees Celsius, down by five degrees from the previous night’s minus 10 degrees Celsius, the spokesman said.
Kargil was the coldest place in the state at minus 15.8 degrees Celsius, around five notches down from the previous night’s low of minus 11.0 degrees Celsius, the spokesperson said.
Kashmir Valley is currently under the grip of ‘Chillai-Kalan’ – the 40-day harshest winter period – which began on December 21. The chances of snowfall are maximum and most frequent during this period.
Though ‘Chillai-Kalan’ would end on January 31, the winter continues after that. The 40-day period would be followed by a 20-day long ‘Chillai Khurd’ (small cold) and a 10-day long ‘Chillai Bachha’ (baby cold). (AGENCIES)
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