Srinagar: There is no let up in freezing cold conditions in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh as Srinagar continued to record coldest night for the second consecutive day at minus 6 degree Celsius on Sunday, a Meteorological Department office said.
In Srinagar it was the lowest temperature of the season so far and was minus 4.5 degree below normal for this time of the year, MeT office said.
The mercury has fallen considerably all across the Kashmir valley before the onset of the Chillai-e-Kalan, the 40-day long coolest part of the season, starting on December 21. In the last ten years, there have been few occasions when the mercury fell to minus 6.0 degree Celsius or above in Srinagar.
On 19 December 2020, the mercury had plummeted to minus 6.6 degree Celsius while the lowest in the month of December was recorded on the 30th day in 2019 at 6.6 degree Celsius. In the last ten years, the lowest was recorded 25 December 2017 when mercury plunged to minus 7.7 degree Celsius. The lowest ever temperature in December was recorded on 13th of 1934 when mercury fell to minus 12.8 degree Celsius.
Meanwhile, the mercury in the world famous ski resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district settled at minus 7.5 degree Celsius, up by 1.0 degree the previous night.
Qazigund, the gateway town of Kashmir, had a low of minus 6.5 degree Celsius against minus 6.0 degree Celsius on the previous night while Pahalgam, the famous resort in south Kashmir, recorded a low of minus 8.7 degree Celsius against minus 8.3 degree on Saturday night.
Kokernag, also in south Kashmir, recorded a low of minus 6.0 degree Celsius against the minimum of minus 5.1degree Celsius a day ago.
Kupwara frontier in north Kashmir recorded a minimum of minus 6.1 degree Celsius against minus 6.1 degree Celsius the previous night.
The Leh town in Ladakh Union Territory had a low of minus 16.0 degree Celsius against last night’s minus 15.3 degree Celsius while automatic Kargil recorded a minimum of minus 14.5 degree Celsius and Drass, the second coldest place in the world after Siberia, recorded a low of minus 20.7 degree Celsius on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the MeT official forecast said mostly dry and cold weather is likely to continue till December 22 forenoon in both J&K and Ladakh. “There’s a modification in the early forecast of snowfall. Now, there’s no forecast of any major snowfall in both J&K and Ladakh.”
However, he said, light to moderate snowfall is expected at many places of J&K and at scattered places of Ladakh especially along Sonmarg-Drass, Parkachik-Padum axis during the evening of December 22 to 25. He said that due to the mainly clear sky, night temperature Is most likely to fall further during the next three days.
“Thereafter, due to the approaching Western Disturbance, we expect gradual fall in day temperature and slight rise in night temperature from December 21 to 26”, the MeT office added.
UNI
