No respite from intense cold conditions in Kashmir; Kargil town coldest

Srinagar: There was no respite from intense cold conditions in the Kashmir division as Kargil town in the Ladakh region continued to be the coldest place in the state registering a low of minus 19 degrees Celsius. In the nearby Leh town, the mercury settled at a low of minus 13.8 degrees Celsius, down nearly three degrees from minus 10.9 degrees Celsius a day ago, an official of the Meteorological Department said.

Kargil town in the Ladakh region was the coldest place in the state as the minimum temperature last night settled at minus 19 degrees Celsius, one degrees up from the previous night’s minus 20 degrees Celsius, the official said.

Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, recorded a minimum temperature of minus 4.9 degrees Celsius last night, down by 1.6 degrees Celsius from minus 3.3 degrees Celsius the previous night, he said.

The night temperature in Qazigund, in south Kashmir, settled at a low of minus 5.2 degrees Celsius, down from yesterday’s minus 4.2 degrees Celsius. The neighbouring Kokernag town saw mercury fall slightly to settle at a low of minus 1.8 degrees Celsius last night, same as the previous night, the official said.

He said Kupwara in north Kashmir recorded a low of minus 5.4 degrees Celsius, down from minus 4.8 degrees Celsius the previous night. The official said the night temperature in Pahalgam — the famous health resort which also serves as one of the base camps for the annual Amarnath Yatra — decreased from the low of minus 5.6 degrees Celsius the previous night to settle at the low of minus 6.6 degrees Celsius last night.

Gulmarg — the famous ski-resort in north Kashmir recorded the minimum temperature of minus 6 degrees Celsius up from minus 6.4 degrees Celsius yesterday. The MeT department has forecast isolated rains or snow over the next 24 hours but the weather is expected to remain dry over the rest of the week, indicating that there would be no respite from the cold wave conditions.

Kashmir is currently under the grip of ‘Chillai-Kalan’, a 40-day harshest period of winter, when the chances of snowfall are most frequent and maximum and the temperature drops considerably. It ends on January 31, but the cold wave continues even after that in the valley.

The 40-day period is followed by a 20-day ‘Chillai-Khurd’ (small cold) and a 10-day long ‘Chillai-Bachha’ (baby cold).