Srinagar, Dec 26: As a cold wave intensified across Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, Jammu city recorded the season’s coldest night at 3.5 degrees Celsius, the Met officials said.
The cold wave conditions in Kashmir intensified further as temperature slipped several degrees below the freezing point. Leh recorded the lowest temperature, minus 17.1 degrees Celsius last night, a weather official said.
Srinagar saw its coldest night in 11 years on Monday, with temperature slipping to minus 6.9 degrees Celsius. Srinagar posted a minus 6.7 degree Celsius last night while Qazigund, the gateway town to Kashmir, recorded minus 5.9 degrees Celsius.
The minimum temperature in Kupwara in north Kashmir was 6.4 degrees Celsius. The night temperature in Pahalgam in south Kashmir settled at minus 7.9 degrees Celsius.
Gulmarg, Kashmir’s ski resort, was the coldest place in the Valley at minus 9.4 degrees Celsius.
The cold wave has resulted in freezing of some water-bodies, including the fringes of the Dal Lake in Srinagar and residential water supply pipes in Srinagar and other towns.
Kashmir is currently under the grip of ‘Chillai-Kalan’ – the 40-day harshest period of winter when the chances of snowfall are believed to be maximum and the temperature drops considerably.
‘Chillai-Kalan’ ends on January 31, but the cold wave continues even after that. It is followed by a 20-day-long ‘Chillai-Khurd’ (small cold) and a 10-day-long ‘Chilla-Bachha’ (baby cold).
The winter this season has been largely dry, although there was a spell of snowfall in the Valley in early November.
In the Ladakh region and Valley, the mercury dropped several degrees below the freezing point, with Leh recording minus 17.1 and Kargil minus 14.4degree Celsius.
Generally cloudy weather is expected in the Kashmir Valley during the next 24 hours till Thursday.
Cold wave conditions intensified in Jammu region as well as the minimum temperature in the city plummeted to the season’s lowest and Banihal, popularly known as the City of Mountains, shivered at minus 3.0C, a Met department official said.
The night temperature in Jammu city was recorded at 3.5 degree Celsius, a decrease of half point from a day before, the official said.
Banihal and Batote areas along the Jammu-Srinagar national highway and Bhaderwah in Doda district reeled under sub-zero temperatures.
Bhaderwah recorded a minimum of minus 2.1 degree Celsius and Batote chilled at minus 1.3degree Celsius, the official said.
A cold wave is sweeping through the region for the past a few days.
The morning sun provided some relief to people in Jammu city on Tuesday as the temperature increased to 19.2 degree Celsius, which was 1.2degree Celsius below the normal.
Katra, the base camp for pilgrims visiting the Vaishno Devi Shrine, in Reasi district recorded a minimum of 4.2degree Celsius against the previous night’s 5.0degree Celsius, the meteorological department official said.
