SRINAGAR, Nov 19: The cold wave tightened its grip over the Kashmir Valley as night temperatures dipped further, with Pahalgam recording the season’s lowest at a freezing -3.6°C, officials reported on Tuesday.
Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, registered a minimum temperature of 0.4°C during the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday, marking the first sub-normal reading of the season at 0.3°C below average.
Pahalgam in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district remained the coldest location, with the temperature plummeting to -3.6°C on Tuesday, down from -2.6°C the previous night. This reading was 1.5°C below normal for the scenic tourist destination.
At the ski resort of Gulmarg, the night temperature saw slight improvement but remained 0.7°C below normal at -1.5°C. The resort had experienced its coldest night of the season the previous day, with temperatures dropping to -3.0°C.
Other parts of the valley also experienced significant drops. Qazigund, the gateway to Kashmir, recorded a low of -1.4°C, which was 1.9°C below normal, compared to 2.6°C the night before. Meanwhile, Kokernag recorded a low of 1.4°C, which was normal for this time of year, down from 4.2°C the previous night.
Kupwara in north Kashmir registered a minimum temperature of -0.5°C, a slight drop from 0.2°C the previous night, and stood at 0.2°C below normal.
Despite the chilling nights, most parts of the Kashmir Valley, barring Gulmarg, experienced day temperatures that were slightly above normal, aided by bright sunshine on Monday.
According to the Meteorological Department, dry weather is expected to persist in the region until November 23. However, a fresh wet spell is likely to begin on November 24, with light rain and snow anticipated over higher reaches and scattered areas in Kashmir, as well as isolated parts of Jammu division. The weather is then forecasted to turn generally dry from November 25 to November 30.
