Chillai-Kalan ends in Kashmir, no respite from cold in

In a respite for people in Kashmir, temperatures across the region increased by a few notches today while severe cold conditions prevailed in Himachal Pradesh.
The Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SESA) also issued an avalanche warning in several districts of Jammu and Kashmir for the next 24 hours, following an 6.2 magnitude earthquake on the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border region that jolted parts of north India.
The national capital witnessed shallow fog in the morning with the minimum temperature settling at 9.9 degrees Celsius.
In Srinagar, the MeT department said that no major snowfall was reported in Kashmir and that the night temperature rose across the Valley.

During Chillai-Kalan, the possibility of snowfall is maximum. But this year, the period was the driest in four decades.
The department said that all weather stations in the valley - except Pahalgam and Gulmarg - recorded minimum temperatures above the freezing point.

Srinagar -- Jammu and Kashmir's summer capital -- recorded a minimum temperature of 3.5 degrees Celsius while Gulmarg, a popular ski-resort, recorded a low of minus 3.6 degrees Celsius and Pahalgam minus 2.5 degrees Celsius.
Kargil in the Ladakh region continued to freeze at minus 15 degrees Celsius and Leh at minus 7.1 degrees Celsius, the MeT department said.

The SESA has "informed that medium danger avalanche warning of level-3 exists in higher reaches of Baramulla district and low danger warning of level-2 in Kupwara, Bandipore, Shopian and Kargil Districts," an official spokesman in Srinagar said.
The high-altitude tribal areas of Himachal Pradesh experienced severe cold wave conditions, with night temperatures staying between minus 11 to minus 17 degrees Celsius.
Keylong and Kalpa recorded a low of minus 4.2 degrees Celsius and zero degrees Celsius, respectively.
Bhuntar and Sundernagar reeled under piercing cold wave conditions with minimums of 3.4 degrees Celsius and 4.1 degrees Celsius, followed by Palampur and Solan 6.6 degrees Celsius and Shimla 7.6 degrees Celsius.

In Punjab and Haryana, cold weather conditions continued, with Narnaul being the coldest in the region with a low of 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Union Territory Chandigarh, the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana, braved cold weather at 10.2 degrees Celsius, an official of the MeT department said.
In Punjab, Amritsar's minimum settled at 6 degrees Celsius while Ludhiana and Patiala experienced cold conditions at 11 and 10.9 degrees Celsius respectively.
In Haryana, Ambala's minimum was 12.2 degrees Celsius while the mercury in Bhiwani and Karnal settled at 9.6, 8.9 and 9.8 degrees Celsius, respectively.
The weather was dry over Uttar Pradesh, with very dense fog occurring at isolated places over the eastern parts of the state.

The day temperatures rose in Bareilly, Moradabad, Meerut, Faizabad, Lucknow, and Agra. The lowest minimum temperature in the state was recorded in Bahraich at 6.4 degrees Celsius.