Srinagar, Dec 19 (PTI) Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, witnessed the season’s coldest night so far with the minimum temperature settling at a low of minus 4.4 degrees as the cold wave tightened its grip in the Valley where mercury slipped further below the freezing point.
The night temperature in Srinagar dipped further by over a degree from the previous night’s minus 3.2 degrees Celsius and settled at a low of minus 4.4 degrees Celsius, an official of the MeT Department here said.
He said this was the season’s coldest night in the city, which caused the fringes of famous Dal Lake to freeze.
The mercury in Qazigund, the gateway town to Kashmir Valley, also went down from the previous night’s low of minus 3.3 degrees Celsius to settle at a low of minus 3.8 degrees Celsius, the official said.
He said the tourist resort of Pahalgam which serves as a base camp for the annual Amarnath Yatra in south Kashmir registered a low of minus 7.9 degrees Celsius compared to the previous night’s minus 7.7 degrees Celsius.
The minimum temperature in Kupwara in north Kashmir also went down by nearly a degree to settle at a low of minus 4.6 degrees Celsius, while Kokernag town in south Kashmir registered a minimum temperature of minus 3.1 degrees Celsius, the official said.
The famous ski-resort of Gulmarg recorded a low of minus 10.5 degrees Celsius.
The resort had registered a low of minus 10.4 degrees Celsius the previous night, the official said.
Leh, in the frontier region of Ladakh, also witnessed a slight decrease in the night temperature as the mercury there settled at minus 13.7 degrees Celsius compared to the previous night’s minus 12.9 degrees Celsius.
Leh was the coldest place in the state, the official said.
The temperature in the nearby Kargil town dropped nearly three degrees as the mercury there recorded a low of minus 10.2 degrees Celsius against the previous night’s minus 7.4 degrees Celsius, the official said.
The MeT Department has predicted mainly dry weather over the next few days.
The weather is likely to remain dry even on the advent of Chillai-Kalan, the 40-day harshest period of winter when the chances of snowfall are most frequent and maximum.
Chillai-Kalan, which begins with winter solstice on December 21, ends on January 31 next year.
The 40-day period is followed by a 20-day long Chillai-Khurd (small cold) and a 10-day long Chillai-Bachha (baby cold).
