Srinagar: People in Kashmir had some respite from the cold in Kashmir even as minimum temperature across the Valley stayed below the freezing point, a Meteorological (MeT) official said on Sunday.
In Srinagar, the summer capital of state, the night temperature settled at a low of minus 2.4 degrees Celsius last night up from minus 7.2 degrees Celsius the previous night, he said.
The official said Qazigund the gateway town to the Valley – in south Kashmir recorded a low of minus1.8 degrees Celsius, while the nearby Kokernag town registered a low of minus 2.7 degrees Celsius last night.
Kupwara in north Kashmir recorded a low of minus 3.4 degrees Celsius last night, they said.
The night temperature in Pahalgam settled at a low of minus 2.5 degrees Celsius last up from the previous night’s minus 8.3 degrees Celsius.
The ski-resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir recorded the minimum temperature of minus 4.0 degrees Celsius last night, up from the previous night’s minus 7.0 degrees Celsius, the officials 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).
