SRINAGAR, Dec 23:
The famous ski-resort of Gulmarg, in north Kashmir, received snowfall, breaking the dry spell in the State, even as the minimum temperature in most places in the Valley and Ladakh region appreciated, providing slight relief from cold to the people.
“Gulmarg received snowfall of 1 cm during the night,” a MeT official said here.
The minimum temperature in Gulmarg dropped to settle at minus 5.6 degrees Celsius as compared to minus 2.8 degrees Celsius of the previous night.
Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, recorded a low of minus 0.4 degrees Celsius, slightly up from the previous night’s minus 1.3 degrees Celsius, he said.
The famous hill resort of Pahalgam in south Kashmir, which serves as a base camp during the annual Amarnath yatra, registered a low of minus 1.6 degrees Celsius, up by two degrees of the previous night.
The minimum temperature in Qazigund, the gateway town to Kashmir on Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, was recorded at minus 2.8 degrees Celsius.
The mercury also decreased in Kokernag hill resort in south Kashmir to record a low of minus 2.6 degrees Celsius.
North Kashmir’s Kupwara town, 90 km from here, recorded a low of minus 1.4 degrees Celsius, up one degree from the previous night’s minus 2.9 degrees Celsius.
The minimum temperature in Leh was recorded at minus 3.7 degrees Celsius, over five degrees up from the previous night’s minus 8.8 degrees Celsius.
The temperature in Kargil was not available, MeT official said.
MeT department has predicted light rain or snow at isolated places in the State.
Kashmir Valley is currently going through ‘Chillai-Kalan’, which begins with Winter Solstice on December 21, and is the period when the chances of snowfall are maximum.
The weather remains cold during this period as the day temperature also dip drastically, freezing most of the water bodies including the famous Dal Lake.
This year, the cold wave in the Valley began earlier than the normal period of ‘Chillai Kalan’, with the minimum in Srinagar plummeting to over four degrees below the freezing point on December 11.
Though ‘Chillai-Kalan’ would end on January 31, the winter continues after that. The 40-day harshest period would be followed by a 20-day long ‘Chillai Khurd’ (small cold) and a 10-day long ‘Chillai Bachha’ (baby cold). (AGENCIES)
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