After a slight relief , the cold wave tightened its grip again over Kashmir as mercury plummeted sharply across the Valley last night, officials said on Tuesday.
According to the meteorological department the minimum night temperatures remained 0–3°C below normal at scattered places across the Kashmir division, while they stayed about 1–3°C above normal at many locations in the Jammu division.
Sonmarg in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district recorded the lowest minimum temperature in Kashmir at –7.0°C, whereas Bhaderwah was the coldest in the Jammu division with –0.2°C.
MeT data said that Srinagar, the summer capital, recorded a minimum temperature of –4.9°C, falling from the previous night’s –2.4°C. Qazigund settled at –5.0°C against –3.6°C a night earlier.
The tourist resort of Pahalgam saw temperatures dip to –6.2°C from –3.4°C.
Kupwara recorded a low of –5.8°C compared to –3.7°C previously, while Gulmarg, the famous ski resort, registered –3.5°C, nearly steady with –3.4°C the preceding night.
Pulwama and Shopian remained in the grip of severe cold at –6.6°C and –6.3°C, both showing a further fall.
The most significant drop was witnessed in Sonamarg, where the mercury plunged to –7.0°C from –2.4°C, making it the coldest place in the Valley.
Jammu city registered a minimum of 3.8°C, while Katra recorded 6.2°C. Banihal was comparatively milder at 8.9°C, whereas Batote and Kathua recorded lows of 4.1°C and 4.0°C, respectively. Ramban settled at 2.6°C. Bhaderwah remained the coldest in the division with the mercury dipping to –0.2°C.
On Monday Jammu City was colder than most parts of Kashmir. The maximum temperature in Jammu City on Monday was 9.6°C, while it was 12.4°C in Srinagar, 13.9°C in Qazigund, 10.8°C in Pahalgam, 10.7°C in Kupwara and 11.5°C in Kokernag.
Meanwhile, weather officials have forecast mainly dry conditions across Jammu and Kashmir during the next 24 hours, with no significant precipitation expected. The outlook for the subsequent two days also indicates a continuation of mainly dry weather.
