SRINAGAR: As the 40-days freezing ‘Chillai-Kalan’ ended in Kashmir, residents in the Valley got a much needed relief from bone-chilling cold conditions, with temperatures showing a remarkable increase over last two days.
The night temperature across the valley jumped up by several degrees, with the mercury in the summer capital Srinagar settling above the freezing point.
The minimum night temperature in Srinagar was recorded at 1.8 degrees Celsius, over three notches up from the previous night’s -1.6 degrees Celsius, a MET Department spokesman said.
He said the minimum night temperature in Pahalgam hill resort in south Kashmir also improved by over three notches to settle at -3.6 degrees Celsius from the previous night’s -6.7 degrees Celsius.
The ski-resort of Gulmarg which shivered at a low of -4.6 degree Celsius the previous night, recorded a low of -2.0 degrees Celsius, an increase of over two degrees, he said. The resort had recorded a minimum temperature of -6.3 degrees Celsius on Tuesday.
He said the minimum night temperature in the highway town of Qazigund in south Kashmir was up by a little over two notches at -1.4 degrees Celsius as against the yesterday’s -3.6 degrees Celsius.
The night temperature in Kokernag settled at a low of minus 1.5 degrees Celsius, as against the previous night’s -3.2 degrees Celsius, he said.
The spokesman said that in north Kashmir’s Kupwara town, where the previous night’s minimum was -1.8 degrees Celsius, the minimum temperature settled above the freezing point at a low of 0.7 degree Celsius during the night.
The Leh town in the cold desert of Ladakh recorded a low of -12.2 degree Celsius, as against the previous night’s low of -15.8 degree Celsius, he said.
The night temperature in Kargil, also in the frontier region of Ladakh, settled at a minimum of -13.6 degrees Celsius as compared to -12.4 degrees Celsius yesterday, making it the coldest recorded place in the state.
(PTI)
