Pictures by Zargar Zahoor
Srinagar, Feb 28: Sunshine greeted the people of Kashmir Valley and Ladakh momentarily after below freezing night temperature on Monday.
A meteorological department official said that Srinagar, the summer capital of J&K recorded a drop in night temperature with mercury settling at minus 0.6°C against last night’s 0.4°C.
Qazigund, the gateway town of Kashmir, recorded a low of minus 3.8°C against minus 0.4°C on the previous night, he said.
Kokernag, also in south Kashmir, had a low of minus 2.6°C against minus 1.8°C on the previous night, the official said.
Pahalgam, the famous resort in south Kashmir, recorded a low of minus 6.8°C against minus 5.4°C last night, he said.
Gulmarg recorded a low of minus 8.0°C against minus 9.5°C on the previous night, he said.
The temperature was 2.2°C below normal for this time of the year in the famous resort in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, he said.
Kupwara town in north Kashmir recorded a low of minus 1.9 °C against minus 0.1°C on the previous night, the official said.
While ‘Chillai Kalan’, the 40-day long harshest period of winter ended on January 30, and 20-day long ‘Chillai Khurd’ culminated on February 19, Kashmir is presently under the grip of 10-day-long ‘Chilla Bachha’.
Jammu recorded a low of 7.9°C against 8.1°C on the previous night, the official said. The temperature was 3.7°C below normal for the J&K’s winter capital during this time of the year, he said.
Banihal recorded a low of 5.2°C; Batote had a minimum of 3.7°C while Bhaderwah recorded a low of 0.6°C, the official said.
Ladakh’s Leh recorded a minimum of minus 12.8°C against last night minus 7.5°C on the previous night while automatic Kargil station at recorded a low of minus 17.6°C. Drass, the second coldest place in the world after Siberia, recorded a low of minus 22.0°C, against 15.4°C on the previous night, officials said.
“There will be partly cloudy weather till March 1 and cloudy with possibility of light rain/snow (over higher reaches) during 2-3rd March,” the official said. “There’s no forecast of any significant weather till March 5,” he added.
