Biting cold grips Kashmir
No forecast of major rain or snowfall till December 25-26
Srinagar: Srinagar experienced the coldest night of the season on Wednesday as the Valley reeled under cold conditions with the mercury plummeting several degrees below the freezing point owing to a clear sky, MeT officials said.
All the weather stations in the Valley recorded the sub-zero night temperature owing to the clear sky and the minimum temperature settled several degrees below the normal for this part of the season, they said.
The officials said Srinagar recorded a low of minus 4.8 degrees Celsius, down from the previous night’s minus 3.2 degrees Celsius. The minimum temperature was about four degrees below the normal for this part of the season.
This was the coldest night of the season so far in the city, they added.
The mercury in Gulmarg, the ski-resort in north Kashmir, settled at a low of minus 11.0 degrees Celsius which is about seven degrees below the normal for this time of the season, the officials said.
The resort was the coldest recorded place in the union territory.
Pahalgam tourist resort in south Kashmir recorded a low of minus 7.4 degrees Celsius, the officials said.
They said Qazigund, the gateway town to the Valley, recorded the minimum of minus 3.3 degrees Celsius, while Kupwara, in the north, registered a low of minus 4.8 degrees Celsius and Kokernag, in the south, minus 5.2 degrees Celsius, they said.
The Meteorological Office has said the weather is likely to remain mainly dry till December 22 with the possibility of a further decrease in the night temperature.
“Weather will remain cloudy on December 20-21 and there is a possibility of improvement in the night temperature on the particular date,” an official said. “There is no forecast of major rain or snowfall till December 25-26.”
