Shadow Correspondent
Srinagar, Dec 10:
Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, experienced its coldest night of the season on Tuesday, with temperatures plummeting to a bone-chilling minus 5.4°C.
The famous ski resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district recorded an even harsher -9.0°C, maintaining its status as the coldest place in the region for the second consecutive day, while the picturesque tourist destination of Pahalgam in south Kashmir registered a freezing -8.4°C, the Meteorological Centre in Srinagar said.
The unprecedented cold wave has disrupted daily activities across the Kashmir Valley.
In Srinagar, the temperature dropped sharply during the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday, recording a low of -5.4°C compared to -3.3°C on the previous night, marking a significant dip of 4.8°C below the seasonal average.
Other parts of the valley also faced a sharp decline in temperatures. Qazigund, the gateway town on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway, recorded -6.4°C on Tuesday, a drop from -5.2°C the previous night, and 5.7°C below the normal for this time of year.
Kokernag, a popular picnic spot, recorded a slight improvement with a minimum temperature of -4.0°C compared to -4.4°C the previous night, though still 3.4°C below the average for the day.
In the frontier district of Kupwara, the mercury dipped further to -5.4°C from the previous night’s -4.4°C, settling 2.7°C below the seasonal average.
The Met has predicted generally dry weather for today, with a slight possibility of light snowfall in higher altitudes of central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district and north Kashmir’s Bandipora district on December 11.
A weak Western Disturbance (WD) is expected to hit the region on December 12, potentially bringing light rain or snowfall to a few areas in the Kashmir valley. However, the weather is expected to remain mostly dry until December 17.
The Meteorological Centre Srinagar on Tuesday predicted dry weather conditions across Jammu and Kashmir till December 20.
Today there will be generally dry weather conditions, while on December 11 there is possibility of generally cloudy with light snow over isolated higher reaches during evening & night of December 11, the officials said.
They said from December 12-20, the weather conditions will likely remain dry.
“There will be no significant weather activity till December 20,” the officials said.
They added that cold and dry weather will generally prevail over many stations during next 7-10 days.
In view of sub-freezing temperature and icy conditions over roads of important passes and higher reaches, tourists, travelers and transporters are advised to follow advisories being issued from administration and traffic department.
