With freezing cold temperatures gripping the entire North India, the conditions in Jammu and Kashmir have already tightened their grip on Wednesday. As reported by news agency PTI, Srinagar experienced the coldest night of the season at minus 3.9 degrees Celsius, while the mercury settled below the freezing point at most places in the Valley.
The officials from the weather agencies asserted that the night temperature in Srinagar was 4 degrees below the normal for the season.
Moreover, they also asserted that Konibal in south Kashmir`s Pulwama district was the coldest recorded place in the Valley at minus 5.5 degrees Celsius.
With the majority of districts experiencing a sheer drop in temperatures, the Pahalgam tourist resort recorded a low of minus 4.6 degrees Celsius, while the minimum temperature in Gulmarg settled at zero degrees Celsius, reported PTI.
Qazigund, the gateway town to the Valley, recorded minus 3.4 degrees Celsius, while Kupwara in north Kashmir settled for a low of minus 4 degrees Celsius.
The MeT department has forecast mainly dry weather across Kashmir till December 2, with a possibility of a further fall in the night temperature.
The local meteorological office, a few days before, while alerting about the extremely cold conditions in Jammu and Kashmir, said, “The minimum temperature of Srinagar recorded a low of minus 3.2 degrees Celsius, the coldest night of this winter season so far.”
While the Zojila Pass connecting the Valley with Ladakh recorded a low of minus 8 degrees Celsius, the conditions across the northern part of Kashmir experienced sheer cold.
Furthermore, the Kashmir Valley has been going through a prolonged dry spell since October, and the Met office has forecast dry weather to continue over the next week, as reported by news agency PTI.
While Gulmarg and Pahalgam have already been witnessing freezing temperatures, the MeT department predicts dry weather and further temperature drops in the coming few days.
Due to the morning and evening chilly winds blowing across the valley from snow-clad mountain tops, the weather in Kashmir has now turned quite cold.
Amid the freezing temperatures in the state, locals have now started covering themselves with heavy woollens.
(With inputs from PTI)