At minus 17.2 degrees Celsius, Kargil records coldest night of season

The minimum temperature at most places in Kashmir Valley and the Ladakh region plummeted, with Kargil experiencing the coldest night of the season so far, an official at the MeT Department said Monday.

The nearby Kargil recorded a low of minus 17.2 degrees Celsius on Sunday night, he said.

Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, recorded a low of minus 6.6 degrees Celsius a drop of over four degrees from minus 2.4 degrees Celsius on Saturday night.

The official said Qazigund, the gateway town to the valley, in south Kashmir recorded a low of minus 4.7 degrees Celsius, while the nearby Kokernag town registered a low of minus 2.3 degrees Celsius.

Kupwara in north Kashmir recorded a low of minus 5.3 degrees Celsius on Sunday night, he said.

The night temperature in Pahalgam, which serves as one of the base camps for the annual Amarnath yatra in south Kashmir, settled at a low of minus 5.5 degrees Celsius down from minus 2.5 degrees Celsius on Saturday night.

The weatherman said the ski-resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir recorded a low of minus 5.0 degrees Celsius.

The night temperature in Leh town in the Ladakh region of the state decreased nearly two degrees from the Saturday's minus 12.2 degrees Celsius to settle at a low of minus 14.0 degrees Celsius on Sunday night, the official said.

Kashmir is currently under the grip of 'Chillai-Kalan' -- the 40-day harshest period of winter when the chances of snowfall are most frequent and maximum and the temperature drops considerably.

'Chillai-Kalan' ends on January 31, but the cold wave continues even after that in Kashmir. The 40-day period is followed by a 20-day long 'Chillai-Khurd' (small cold) and a 10-day long 'Chillai-Bachha' (baby cold).

However, the winter this season has been dry so far, although there was a spell of early snowfall in the valley in first and second week of November.

The weatherman has predicted rain or snowfall at scattered to widespread places in the state over the most of the week ahead.