Photo by Haamid Bala
Srinagar, Dec 4: Freezing weather conditions show no signs of reprieve in Kashmir Valley as minimum temperature in Srinagar plunged to minus 2.2°C on Sunday.
A meteorological department official here said the temperature was three notches below yesterday’s minus 1.9°C for the summer capital. While mercury was around 1.3°C below normal during this time of the year, the official said, it equaled last Sunday’s temperature which was the coldest night so far this season in the city which also remained engulfed by mist.
Qazigund recorded a low of minus 2.8°C against minus 2.4°C on the previous night. The temperature was 1.8°C below normal for the gateway town of Kashmir, he said.
In Pahalgam, the mercury settled at minus 4.6°C against minus 2.8°C on the previous night and it was 1.3°C below normal for the south Kashmir resort, he said.
Kokernag recorded a low of minus 0.8°C against minus 1.0°C on the previous night and it was 0.2°C below normal for the place, he said.
Gulmarg recorded a low of minus 2.5°C against minus 2.0°C on the previous night, the official said. It was 0.8°C above normal for the world famous skiing resort in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, the official said.
In Kupwara town, the mercury settled at minus 2.4°C against minus 1.9°C on the previous night, the official said. It was 1.0°C below normal for the north Kashmir place, he said.
Jammu recorded a low of 8.7°C against 10.5°C on the previous night. It was 1.1°C below normal for J&K’s winter capital, he said. Banihal recorded a low of minus 0.2°C (below normal by 2.3°C), Batote 3.0°C (1.3°C below normal), Katra 8.6°C (0.3°C below normal) and Bhadarwah 1.4°C (0.1°C below normal).
In Ladakh, Leh recorded minus 8.4°C, Kargil minus 10.8°C and mercury in Drass, the world’s second coldest place after Siberia, settled at minus 11.1°C, the official said. The Weatherman has already forecast light to moderate snowfall in Kashmir from December 9 to 10.
“There is a possibility of light snow over plains and lower reaches, light to moderate snow over middle and higher reaches during 9th December (evening) to 10th December (evening) particularly over north, northwestern, central parts of Kashmir and South Kashmir,” the MeT office said.
