SRINAGAR, Dec 15: The cold wave continues to affect the Kashmir Valley, accompanied by a slight drop in overnight temperatures, which remained below freezing, as reported by officials on Sunday. The Meteorological Centre in Srinagar forecasts that the cold wave will persist across several weather stations in the valley over the coming days. They also indicated that the weather is expected to stay predominantly dry until December 21, when the harshest phase of the 40-day winter period known as “Chilai-e-Kalan” will commence in the region.
On Saturday night, Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, recorded a temperature of minus 3.4°C, which is 2.2°C lower than the normal 1.2°C for this time of year.
In Qazigund, there was a slight improvement in the night temperature, which was minus 4.0°C, compared to the previous night’s minus 5.6°C. This temperature was also 2.6°C below the seasonal norm for this gateway town along the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway.
The tourist destination Pahalgam, known for its cold climate, experienced the lowest temperature at minus 8.4°C the previous day, but saw a rise to minus 4.8°C on Sunday, which is still 0.7°C below normal for this southern Kashmir area populated by shepherds.
Kokernag recorded a low of 2.8°C, down from 4.2°C the prior night, which was 1.3°C below the average for this well-known picnic location in southern Kashmir.
The ski resort of Gulmarg also saw an improvement, with temperatures rising to minus 3.8°C from minus 7.6°C the day before, marking a rise of 1.2°C above normal for this meadow-filled region in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district.
In the frontier district of Kupwara, temperatures fell to a low of 1.3°C, slightly above the normal of minus 1.5°C as reported by the MeT office.
