Srinagar shivers, Drass freezes at – 27.6 °C
Srinagar, Jan 15 : The cold wave continued to tighten its grip over Kashmir division with mercury plunging to minus 4.5 degree Celsius in Srinagar here on Saturday.
The Meteorological Department said the Pahalgam resort in south Kashmir was the coldest place in Kashmir last night as the temperature dropped to a minimum of minus 11.4 degree Celsius.
The ski resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir recorded a low of minus 9.5 degree Celsius.
Qazigund, in south Kashmir, recorded a low of minus 7.6 degree Celsius while frontier Kupwara town registered a minimum of minus 5.0 degree Celsius.
Kashmir is presently in the midst of the winter’s harshest phase of 40 days, Chillai Kalan, which began on December 21.
In the UT of Ladakh the temperatures had dropped to extreme levels overnight. Leh town of Ladakh recorded a low of -16.3°C overnight, the MeT official said.
The minimum temperature in Drass, which is the second coldest inhabited place, was recorded at minius 27.6°C, the official said.
Jammu recorded a low of 7.7 degree Celsius against previous night’s 5.7°C which is 0.7°C above normal.
According to an independent weather forecaster, there are around four to five Western Disturbances expected during the next 15 days and the first is expected around Sunday. None of the Western Disturbances seem to be strong enough to bring heavy snowfall in the plains.
“The first Western Disturbance is expected around 16 January. It won’t be an active one, mostly cloudy weather is expected along with light rain/snow at a few places in higher reaches,” the forecaster said.