Srinagar: Snowfall in some of the higher reaches of Kashmir pushed the minimum temperature up across the Valley, except in Pahalgam, even as the Meteorological Department has forecast a higher intensity wet weather spell over three days from Monday, officials said on Sunday.
Some areas in the higher reaches of Kashmir, including the ski resort of Gulmarg, received light to moderate snowfall, the officials said.
They said many other areas were lashed by rain during the night.
The cloud cover pushed the minimum temperature up across the Valley and the night temperature in Srinagar and Qazigund stayed above the freezing point.
In Srinagar, the minimum settled at a low of 1 degree Celsius – up from 0.2 degrees the night before.
Qazigund, the gateway to the Valley, registered a low of 0.2 degrees Celsius.
Kokernag in south Kashmir recorded a low of minus 1.9 degrees Celsius – up two degrees, while the minimum temperature in Kupwara settled at minus 0.5 degrees – up from minus 2.8 degrees the previous night.
The minimum temperature in Gulmarg in Baramulla district was minus 6.8 degrees Celsius. The ski-resort town was the coldest place in Jammu and Kashmir.
Pahalgam recorded a minimum temperature of minus 6.3 degrees Celsius.
The Met office said there are chances of light rain or snow at scattered places in the Union Territory on Sunday.
It predicted a much higher intensity of precipitation from Monday to Wednesday, with the possibility of moderate snow in the plains of Kashmir and moderate to heavy snow over the middle and higher reaches and rain in Jammu.
Light rain or snow could occur at isolated places on Thursday and Friday.
The Indian Meteorological Department(IMD) on Sunday also issued a forecast of enhanced rain and snowfall activity with the possibility of heavy falls over the Western Himalayan Region including Jammu and Kashmir and rainfall activity over the plains of Northwest India from 24th to 26th January.
It said that the Western Disturbance is very likely to move slowly eastwards and with high moisture feeding from the Arabian Sea into the western Himalayan Region at lower & middle tropospheric levels from 24th to 26th January.
“Light to moderate isolated to scattered rainfall is very likely over Western Himalayan Region on 22nd & 23rd; its intensity & distribution is very likely to increase thereafter with fairly widespread to widespread rainfall/snowfall during 24th to 26th January, 2023. Isolated heavy rainfall/snowfall is also likely over Jammu-Kashmir-Ladakh-Gilgit-Baltistan-Muzaffarabad and Himachal Pradesh on 24th & 25th and over Uttarakhand on25th & 26th January,” the IMD forecast said.
