Srinagar: Kashmir is experiencing colder nights and warmer days than the seasonal average, with the minimum temperature across the valley dropping below freezing point, officials said on Friday.
The minimum temperatures in Kashmir were recorded as one to three degrees below the seasonal average while the maximum temperatures on Thursday were also one to four degrees above the normal expected for this time of the year, the meteorological department said.
In Srinagar, the minimum temperature fell by more than two degrees to settle at minus 2.5 degrees Celsius on Thursday night, the official said.
Gulmarg, the ski resort in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, recorded a low of minus 6.8 degrees Celsius, they added.
Pahalgam, a popular tourist resort in south Kashmir and the base camp for the Amarnath yatra, witnessed the mercury dip by two degrees from minus 5.6 degrees Celsius to minus 7.5 degrees Celsius, making it the coldest recorded place in the valley.
Among other places, Qazigund’s minimum temperature settled at minus 2.7 degrees, Kokernag at minus 2.4 degrees, and Kupwara at minus 3.7 degrees Celsius.
Meanwhile, the 20-day ‘Chillai Khurd’ (small cold) period began last Saturday, after the culmination of the 40-day harshest winter period, ‘Chillai-Kalan’. The ‘Chillai Khurd’ will be succeeded by the 10-day ‘Chillai Bachha’ (baby cold).