Srinagar/Jammu, Jan 9: Kashmir continues to reel under an intense cold wave, with several places recording the coldest nights of the season. Srinagar city witnessed its lowest temperature so far this winter, leading to the freezing of water taps and the fringes of water bodies, including parts of the famous Dal Lake. Night temperatures in Jammu have also dropped sharply.
Srinagar recorded a minimum temperature of minus 5.1 degrees Celsius last night, a steep fall of 3.5 degrees from the previous night’s minus 1.6 degrees Celsius. This was the coldest night of the season in the city and around 3.2 degrees below the seasonal average.
Sonamarg in Ganderbal district emerged as the coldest place in the Valley, recording a low of minus 9.8 degrees Celsius. Gulmarg settled at minus 9.2 degrees Celsius, down from minus 7.6 degrees, marking its coldest night of the winter so far. Pahalgam recorded a minimum of minus 8.6 degrees Celsius, also the season’s lowest.
Qazigund saw a sharp drop of over five degrees, recording a minimum of minus 5.4 degrees Celsius. Kokernag registered minus 3 degrees Celsius, while Kupwara recorded minus 5.1 degrees Celsius.
The Kashmir Valley is currently in the grip of ‘Chilla-i-Kalan’, the 40-day harshest phase of winter, which began on December 21 and will end on January 30. During this period, night temperatures often fall well below freezing, and the chances of snowfall are highest. However, the plains of the Valley have not received any snowfall so far this season, while the upper reaches have seen only light snowfall.
According to the India Meteorological Department, the weather is likely to remain dry but cloudy till January 20. Night temperatures are expected to witness a further significant fall across the Valley and in many parts of Jammu till January 10. Day temperatures, however, remained above normal in Kashmir due to clear and sunny conditions.
Srinagar recorded a maximum temperature of 11.1 degrees Celsius, Qazigund 10.5 degrees, Pahalgam 7.2 degrees, Kupwara 10.9 degrees, Kokernag 8.6 degrees and Gulmarg 2.6 degrees Celsius, all several degrees above normal for this time of year.
Meanwhile, Jammu continued to remain under cold wave conditions, with moderate to dense fog engulfing many plain areas since last night. The sharp fall in night temperatures and persistent fog disrupted the smooth movement of vehicles and affected some flight and train operations over the past 24 hours.
Jammu recorded a minimum temperature of 7.1 degrees Celsius, while Katra registered 4.1 degrees Celsius. The maximum temperature in Jammu stood at 13.5 degrees Celsius, about 3.7 degrees below normal. Bhaderwah recorded a minimum of minus 3.4 degrees Celsius and a maximum of 13.5 degrees.
Other areas in the Jammu region reported low night temperatures, including Batote at 2.7 degrees, Banihal at 3.7 degrees, Doda at 1.4 degrees, Kishtwar at 1.5 degrees, Rajouri at minus 1 degree, Poonch at 2.1 degrees, Udhampur at 2 degrees, Ramban at 3.8 degrees, Samba at 5 degrees and Reasi at 5.9 degrees Celsius.
A Meteorological Department official said moderate to dense fog is likely to continue in parts of Jammu, Samba and Kathua till January 11, with significant improvement expected from January 12 onwards. In Kashmir, no major weather activity is expected till January 14, though partly cloudy conditions may prevail till January 15. There is a possibility of light rain or snowfall over higher reaches and isolated areas of the Kashmir division on January 16 and 17, the official added.
