The upward trend in the mercury marked a dip on Monday when the night temperature settled at 5.3 degrees Celsius, down from the previous night’s 6.7 degrees Celsius, a Meteorological department (Met) spokesperson said.
Agencies
Srinagar, December 25:
Dal lake partially froze on Tuesday, a day after Jammu-Kashmir’s capital city Srinagar recorded its coldest night in 11 years with temperatures plunging to minus 6.8C. Despite temperatures settling at minus 5.5C, the cold wave resulted in frozen water bodies and water supply lines in several residential areas
Kashmir is currently under the grip of ‘Chillai-Kalan’ — the harshest period of winter when chances of snowfall are 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 ‘Chillai-Khurd’ (small cold) and a 10-day ‘Chillai-Bachha’ (baby cold).
The ski-resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir recorded a minimum temperature of minus 7.6C, a MeT department official told PTI. The official said Leh recorded a low of minus 10.0C last night — up from minus 14.7C the previous night and the nearby Kargil recorded a low of minus 14.2C.
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 Met office has forecast mainly dry weather till Wednesday.
