Srinagar: The night temperature in Srinagar plunged to 3.5 degrees Celsius below zero while world famous ski-resort of Gulmarg was coldest place in Kashmir Valley at minus 6.6 degrees Celsius, weatherman said on Saturday.
The minimum temperature in this summer capital of state decreased by several notches from minus 2.8 degrees Celsius the previous night to settle at minus 3.5 degree Celsius last night, the meteorological department official told INS.
Srinagar recorded coldest night of the season on December 25 when mercury plummeted to minus 4.2 degrees Celsius. The coldest December night ever recorded was more than 83 years ago, on 13 December 1934, when mercury plunged to minus 12.8 degrees Celsius.
Last year, the coldest December night was recorded on December 21 when mercury plummeted to minus 6.5 degrees Celsius. In last decade, Srinagar saw the coldest December night on last day of the year in 2007 when mercury plunged to minus 7.2 Degrees Celsius.
A look at the coldest nights during the last few years during the final month of the year suggests that Srinagar on 21 December 2015 witnessed minus 5.6 C, same as on 27 December 2014, minus 5.3C on 30 December 2013, minus 4.0C on 23 December 2012, minus 4.9C (26 December 2011), minus 6.6C (27 December 2010), minus 4.9C (on 25 December 2009), and minus 3.4 on 4 December 2008.
Kashmir is presently under the grip Chillai-e-Kalan, a 40-day long chilliest part of the season that started on December 21 and is followed by a 20-day long ‘Chillai Khurd’ and a 10-day-long ‘Chilla Bachha’.
The meteorological department official said the mercury in Qazigund in south Kashmir settled at a low of minus 3.0 degree Celsius as against minus 2.4 C on previous night while Kokernag town recorded a low of minus 0.4 degree Celsius against minus 0.2 C on previous night.
Kupwara town in north Kashmir registered a low of minus 4.1 degree Celsius last night, down from the previous night’s 3.5 degrees Celsius, the official said.
He said the mercury at the famous ski-resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir settled at a low of minus 6.6 degrees Celsius as against minus 5.4 degrees Celsius on the previous night and was the coldest place in Valley.
The night temperature in Pahalgam, the hill resort in south Kashmir, recorded a low of minus 5.5 degree Celsius, down from minus 5.4 degrees Celsius on the previous night, the official said.
The official said the night temperature Leh town recorded a low of minus 13.0 degrees Celsius, down from minus 11.0 degrees Celsius the previous night. The MET Office has forecast dry weather for next few days.
