Srinagar, Jan 12: Kashmir received some respite from intense cold wave conditions as minimum temperatures rose by a couple of degrees, even as they remained below the freezing point, officials said on Monday.
The sub-zero temperatures and clear skies resulted in freezing of parts of the Dal Lake and other water bodies in the valley.
Srinagar recorded a minimum temperature of minus 2.4 degrees Celsius on Sunday night, up from the previous night’s minus 5.2 degrees Celsius, the official said.
Srinagar recorded its coldest night this season on Thursday, with the mercury dipping to a low of minus 6 degrees Celsius.
South Kashmir’s Pulwama town was the coldest place in the valley with a minimum temperature of minus 6.5 degrees Celsius.
Pahalgam tourist resort, which also serves as one of the base camps for the annual Amarnath Yatra, recorded a low of minus 3.4 degrees Celsius.
The night temperature in the popular ski resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district settled at a low of minus 3.4 degrees Celsius, up from the previous night’s minus 6.2 degrees Celsius.
The tourist resort of Sonamarg in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district recorded a minimum temperature of 2.4 degrees Celsius.
Qazigund, the gateway town of the valley, registered a low of minus 3.4 degrees Celsius, Kokernag minus 1.8 degrees Celsius and Kupwara minus 3.7 degrees Celsius.
Kashmir is currently in the midst of ‘Chilla-i-Kalan’, 40 days of extreme cold, when night temperatures often drop several degrees below the freezing point and the chances of snowfall are the highest.
‘Chilla-i-Kalan’, which began on December 21 last year, ends on January 30.
The plains of the valley have not received any snowfall so far this season.
The India Meteorological Department has said the weather is likely to remain dry but cloudy till January 21. (Agencies)