As skies clear up, mercury drops across Kashmir

Minimum temperatures dropped across Kashmir as the skies cleared up with Pahalgam being the coldest place in the Valley at minus 8.4° Celsius, the meteorological department said on Monday. The Valley is likely to witness mainly dry weather over the next few days, it said.

The minimum temperature in Srinagar settled at minus 5.1° Celsius on Sunday night, down from the previous night’s minus 3° Celsius, according to the meteorological department.

North Kashmir’s tourist resort of Gulmarg, known for skiing, recorded a minimum temperature of minus 6.5° Celsius, down from the previous night’s minus 5.6° Celsius.

Pahalgam, one of the base camps for the annual Amarnath Yatra in south Kashmir, recorded a low of minus 8.4° Celsius, down from minus 6.2° Celsius the night before.

The minimum temperature was minus 6.4° Celsius in Qazigund, minus 5.5° Celsius in Konibal in Pampore town, minus 5.5° Celsius in Kupwara and minus 3.4° Celsius in Kokernag.

The weather in the Valley will be mostly cloudy but dry till January 18 with a possibility of light snow at isolated higher reaches on January 15 and 16, the meteorological department said.

Kashmir is currently in the grip of ‘Chillai-Kalan’ — the harshest period of winter. During the 40 days of ‘Chillai-Kalan’, which began on December 21, the chances of snowfall are the highest and the temperature drops considerably.