Light snowfall in Gurez sector breaks dry spell in Valley

Sringar: The prolonged dry spell in the Valley was broken as Gurez sector in Bandipora district received light snowfall overnight even as minimum temperatures rose a few notches in several places, officials said on Saturday.
A feeble western disturbance hit Jammu and Kashmir on Friday night due to which light snowfall occurred in the Gurez area in north Kashmir, they said.
Drass in Ladakh also received very light snowfall but there was no accumulation of snow, they said.
Jammu and Kashmir recorded a 79 per cent rain deficit in December. There was no precipitation in the first week of January as well.
Several parts of the Valley saw a rise in minimum temperatures due to cloudy skies. Night temperatures settled several degrees above the normal for this time of the season.
Srinagar city recorded a minimum temperature of 0.2 degrees Celsius on Friday night, up from the previous night’s minus 4 degrees Celsius.
Qazigund recorded a low of minus 2 degrees. The ski resort of Gulmarg recorded a low of minus 1 degree Celsius — up from minus 3.2 degrees Celsius on Thursday night.
Pahalgam in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district, which serves as one of the base camps for the annual Amarnath Yatra, recorded a minimum temperature of minus 0.6 degrees Celsius — up from minus 5.3 degrees Celsius the previous night.
The minimum temperature in Kokernag town settled at minus 1.2 degrees Celsius, while it was minus 0.3 degrees Celsius in Kupwara.
Kashmir is currently under the grip of ‘Chilla-i-Kalan’, a 40-day harsh winter period during which a cold wave sweeps the region and temperatures drop considerably leading to the freezing of water bodies as well as water in pipes.
The chances of snowfall are the highest during this period and most areas, particularly the higher reaches, receive heavy snowfall.
‘Chilla-i-Kalan’ will end on January 31. However, the cold conditions will continue after that with a 20-day ‘Chilla-i-Khurd’ (small cold) and a 10-day ‘Chilla-i-Bachha’ (baby cold).