The minimum temperature at most places in Kashmir has improved, providing some relief to residents from the prevailing cold conditions, officials said on Saturday. There was an improvement in the night temperature across the Valley, except in Kokernag town in the south, they said.
The officials said Srinagar city was the only place where the mercury settled above the freezing point. The city recorded a low of 0.4 degrees Celsius on Friday night, 1.7 degrees up from minus 1.3 degrees Celsius the previous night, they said.
The officials said Pahalgam, which serves as the base camp for the annual Amarnath Yatra, recorded a low of minus 1 degree Celsius, up from minus 3.3 degrees Celsius the previous night. Gulmarg resort in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district also recorded a minimum temperature of minus 1 degree Celsius.
At Kupwara in north Kashmir, the mercury settled at a low of minus 0.4 degrees Celsius. Qazigund, the gateway town to the Valley, recorded a low of minus 0.3 degrees Celsius, while in Kokernag, it was minus 0.5 degrees Celsius. The meteorological department has said the weather will most likely remain dry but cold till the end of this month. The wintry conditions in the Valley set in much ahead of the beginning of extremely harsh weather conditions, which usually start around the third week of December.
Chillai Kalan’, the 40-day period of harsh winter in Kashmir, begins on December 21 every year.
Pahalgam coldest
Pahalgam, which serves as the base camp for the annual Amarnath Yatra, recorded a low of minus 1° Celsius, up from minus 3.3° Celsius the previous night.
Meanwhile, The Meteorological Department (MeT) Saturday predicted light to moderate snowfall in the first week of December. According to the MeT forecast, the weather would be generally cloudy in Kashmir and Ladakh whereas it would be mainly clear to partly cloudy in most parts of the Jammu region for the next two to three days.
“Mainly dry weather is expected till December 3. As of today, light to moderate snowfall is expected during December 4 and 5, and the probability of occurrence as on date is greater than 50 percent,” the MeT department forecast said. The night temperature during the intervening night of Friday and Saturday witnessed an improvement across Kashmir giving some relief to the people.
The summer capital Srinagar recorded a minimum temperature of 0.4 degrees Celsius during the intervening night of Friday and Saturday. The tourist resort of Pahalgam in south Kashmir and ski resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir recorded a minimum of minus 1 degree Celsius on Friday night, the MeT data said.
Leh district in the cold desert region of Ladakh recorded a low of minus 4.5 degrees Celsius while Kargil town recorded a low of minus 2 degrees Celsius and Drass recorded minus 7.6 degrees Celsius during the intervening night of Friday and Saturday, the MeT data said.
