Cold wave intensifies in J-K, Kargil coldest at -14.5 deg C

Cold wave further tightened its grip in Jammu and Kashmir after snowfall in higher reaches of the state a day earlier, with Kargil in the frontier region of Ladakh was the coldest recorded place with night temperature falling to minus 14.5 degrees Celsius.
The minimum temperature in Kargil town, 204 km from Srinagar, was four notches below that of the previous night, an MeT spokesperson said here.
Kargil had recorded a low of minus 14.2 on December 21, the day when, the 40-day harsh winter period known in local parlance as 'Chillai Kalan' began.
Cold wave usually continues even after 'Chillai-Kalan' which is followed by a 20-day long 'Chillai-Khurd' (small cold) and a 10-day long 'Chillai-Bachha' (baby cold).

In the nearby Leh town of Ladakh, the night temperature was recorded at minus 12.9 degrees Celsius against minus 11.3 degrees Celsius the previous night, he said.
The higher reaches of Kashmir Valley received light snowfall yesterday and clear skies during the night resulted in plummeting of the mercury, the spokesperson said.

Srinagar, which recorded the coldest night of the season on December 21 at minus 5.6 degrees Celsius, witnessed a drop of almost four degrees in temperature against the previous night. The minimum temperature recorded in the summer capital was minus 4 degrees Celsius, he added.
However, there was some respite from the freezing cold as the sun appeared this morning after remaining behind clouds for the last couple of days which had resulted in fall in day temperature to 4.1 degrees Celsius yesterday, which is five degrees below normal during this part of the season.

The famous ski resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir which attracts heavy rush of tourists during the winter was the coldest recorded place in the Valley. The night temperature there fell by one degree to settle at minus 12.5 degrees Celsius.
Another famous hill resort of Pahalgam which serves as a base camp during annual Amarnath Yatra, recorded a minimum of minus 8.5 degrees Celsius against minus 6.3 degrees Celsius yesterday, the MeT Spokesperson said.