Slight respite from cold wave in Kashmir Valley
The meteorological department said that the mercury was recorded at a low of minus 2.4 degrees Celsius in Srinagar on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday, as against minus 4.3 degrees Celsius a night earlier
The cold conditions improved slightly in Kashmir on Tuesday. Although the minimum temperatures saw a marginal increase, they remained below the freezing point in all weather stations of Kashmir division.
The meteorological department said that the mercury was recorded at a low of minus 2.4 degrees Celsius in Srinagar on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday, as against minus 4.3 degrees Celsius a night earlier. On Sunday, it was recorded at minus 5.6 degrees Celsius, the coldest night of the season thus far.
The day temperature in Srinagar was 14.2 degrees Celsius, against Monday’s 11.5 degrees Celsius.
The temperatures improved in all the other weather stations in Kashmir, except in the ski resort of Gulmarg.
The southern Konibal and Pahalgam tourist resorts were the coldest at minus 5 degrees Celsius and minus 4.4 degrees Celsius, respectively. The ski resort of Gulmarg in the north recorded a temperature of minus 4.6 degrees Celsius, up from minus 4 degree Celsius on Monday.
The meteorological update said that the gateway to Kashmir in the south, Qazigund, recorded a minimum of minus 2.6 degrees Celsius and the southern Kokernag observed a low of minus 1.2 degrees Celsius. In north Kashmir, Kupwara recorded a low of minus 4.5 degrees Celsius, some 1.8 notches below normal.
Kashmir’s harshest winter period, “Chilla-i-Kalan”, began on December 21 with the mercury dropping several notches below the freezing point at many places. It will end on January 31.
Kashmir’s winter pans out in three stages, starting with the 40-day intense period from December 21 accompanied with most of the snowfall, followed by 20 days of comparatively less intense chill (Chilla-i-Khurd), and final 10 days of mild cold (Chill-e-Bache).
