Cold wave continued unabated in Kashmir Valley and Ladakh region on Monday as night temperatures went further below the freezing point in most parts, even as the MET Department predicted snowfall this week.
The MET Department forecast said that a fresh Western Disturbance (WD) would affect the state from Tuesday resulting into rainfall or snowfall at few places.
“The maximum impact of this WD would be on January 22 and 23 and the weather would be bad on these days,” said Sonam Lotus, Director, MET Department, Kashmir.
Mr. Lotus said light snowfall in plains, including in Srinagar, and moderate snowfall in higher reaches on January 22 and 23 is expected.
Meanwhile, the night temperatures continued to drop in most places with Kargil recording lowest temperature in the state at minus 19.0 degrees Celsius as against the previous night’s minus 18.2 degrees Celsius.
Srinagar recorded a low of minus 3.7 degrees Celsius as compared to the previous night’s minimum of minus 3.6 degrees Celsius, a MET department official in Srinagar said.
He said the mercury in south Kashmir’s Pahalgam hill resort settled at a low of minus 10.8 degrees Celsius, over a degree down from minus 9.7 degrees Celsius on Saturday night.
The famous ski-resort of Gulmarg recorded a low of minus 6.0 degrees Celsius on Sunday night compared to minus 5.8 degrees Celsius on Saturday night.
The official said mercury settled at a low of minus 8.1 degrees Celsius in Qazigund as compared to the previous night’s minus 7.6 degrees Celsius.
Kupwara, in north Kashmir, registered a low of minus 3.8 degrees Celsius, a notch below the previous night’s minus 3.7 degree Celsius, the official said.
The night temperature in south Kashmir’s Kokernag registered a minimum of minus 5.2 degrees C last night, as against minus 5.3 degrees Celsius the previous night, he said.
The mercury in Leh, in the frontier region of Ladakh, decreased by over two degrees to settle at a low of minus 13.7 degrees C compared to the previous night’s minus 11.2 degrees C, the official said.
The Valley is currently going through ‘Chillai-Kalan’ , considered as the harshest 40-day winter period, which began on December 21 last year.
During this period, the Valley and Ladakh region experience intense cold conditions and possibility of snowfall is also maximum and most frequent.
