Amid cloud cover, minimum temperature recorded further increase in Kashmir Valley on Friday after snowfall.
Kupwara in north Kashmir received highest snowfall of 20cms (7.87 inches) followed by Gulmarg (16.5cm), Qazigund(15.0cm), Pahalgam(10.0cm), Kokernag (5.0 cm), and Srinagar (3.0 cm) in last 24 hours till 0830 hours, mostly late in the afternoon on Thursday, said a meteorological department official.
Ladakh’s Leh district also received traces of snowfall, he said.
Meanwhile, most places recorded a rise in night temperature and for the first time in more than fortnight that mercury increased above normal in the Valley even though it hovered in sub-zero level.
Srinagar recorded a low of minus 0.3°C against last night’s temperature of minus 3.2°C. The temperature was 1.8°C above normal for the summer capital, the official said. Srinagar has so far seen the coldest temperature this season on December 25 when mercury plummeted to minus 5.8°C.
Qazigund recorded a low of minus 2.0°C against minus 3.2°C on the previous night. The temperature was 0.3°C above normal for the gateway town of Kashmir, he said.
Pahalgam, he said, recorded a low of minus 4.9°C against minus 4.5°C on the previous night. The minimum temperature was 0.3°C above normal for the famous tourist resort in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district, he said.
Kokernag recorded a low of minus 2.0°C against minus 2.3°C on the previous night, he said. It was 0.7°C above normal for the place, he said.
Gulmarg recorded a low of minus 5.5°C against minus 4.8°C on the previous night, the official said. It was 0.7°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 0.8°C against minus 3.3°C on the previous night in the north Kashmir area, he said. The official said that the temperature was 1.7°C above normal.
Jammu recorded a low of 7.3°C against 6.0°C on the previous night. It was 0.1°C below normal for J&K’s winter capital which also remained engulfed in fog this morning, he said.
Banihal recorded a low of 0.8°C (above normal by 0.3°C), Batote minus 0.5°C (below normal by 2.7°C), Katra 6.5°C (0.1°C below normal) and Bhadarwah 1.8°C (2.4°C above normal).
In Ladakh, Leh and Kargil recorded a low of minus 10.2°C and 6.2°C respectively, the official said.
Kashmir is under Chillai-Kalan, the 40-day long harsh winter period that started on December 21 is in its infancy, it does not mean an end to the winter. It is followed by a 20-day-long period called ‘Chillai-Khurd’ that occurs between January 30 and February 19 and a 10-day-long period ‘Chillai-Bachha’ (baby cold) which is from February 20 to March 1.
