Srinagar, Dec 10: Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, experienced its coldest night of the season on Tuesday, with temperatures plummeting to a bone-chilling minus 5.4°C.

The famous ski resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district recorded an even harsher -9.0°C, maintaining its status as the coldest place in the region for the second consecutive day, while the picturesque tourist destination of Pahalgam in south Kashmir registered a freezing -8.4°C, the Meteorological Centre in Srinagar said.

The unprecedented cold wave has disrupted daily activities across the Kashmir Valley.

In Srinagar, the temperature dropped sharply during the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday, recording a low of -5.4°C compared to -3.3°C on the previous night, marking a significant dip of 4.8°C below the seasonal average.

Other parts of the valley also faced a sharp decline in temperatures. Qazigund, the gateway town on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway, recorded -6.4°C on Tuesday, a drop from -5.2°C the previous night, and 5.7°C below the normal for this time of year.

Kokernag, a popular picnic spot, recorded a slight improvement with a minimum temperature of -4.0°C compared to -4.4°C the previous night, though still 3.4°C below the average for the day.

In the frontier district of Kupwara, the mercury dipped further to -5.4°C from the previous night’s -4.4°C, settling 2.7°C below the seasonal average.

The Met has predicted generally dry weather for today, with a slight possibility of light snowfall in higher altitudes of central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district and north Kashmir’s Bandipora district on December 11.

A weak Western Disturbance (WD) is expected to hit the region on December 12, potentially bringing light rain or snowfall to a few areas in the Kashmir valley. However, the weather is expected to remain mostly dry until December 17.

UNI