Srinagar : Kashmir Valley received fresh snowfall overnight even as the day temperature hovered below normal for this time of year in the Valley while as weatherman forecast wet spell in next 24 hours.
Srinagar, the summer capital of the state, recorded a maximum of 5.4 degree Celsius, one degree below normal for this time of the year, a meteorological department official told GNS.
He said night temperature also slightly dropped and settled at minus1.0 degree Celsius in the capital city last night.
The official said Qazigund the gateway town to the Valley recorded a maximum of 3.6 degrees Celsius (below 3 degrees from normal) and low of minus 1.2 degrees Celsius, while the nearby Kokernag registered a low of minus 2.2 and maximum of 1.7 degrees Celsius.
The night temperature in Pahalgam, also in south Kashmir, settled at a low of minus 3.0 degrees Celsius while it had a maximum of 3.2 degrees Celsius, the official said.
The ski-resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir recorded the minimum temperature of minus 7.5 degrees Celsius while as day temperature dropped to minus 1.5 degrees Celsius, he said.
Kupwara in north Kashmir recorded a low of minus 0.6 degrees Celsius while it had a maximum of 2.9 degrees Celsius, he said.
Kashmir is currently under the grip of ‘Chillai-Kalan’ the 40-day harshest period of winter when the chances of snowfall are most frequent and maximum and the temperature drops considerably.
‘Chillai-Kalan’ ends on January 31, but the cold wave continues even after that in Kashmir.
The 40-day period is followed by a 20-day long ‘Chillai-Khurd’ (small cold) and a 10-day long ‘Chillai-Bachha’ (baby cold).
Regarding the forecast for the next 24 hours, the weatherman said that there was the possibility of “fairly widespread to widespread rain/snow.”
Meanwhile, a traffic official told GNS that subject to fair weather and road condition, traffic movement on Srinagar-Jammu highway would from Jammu towards Srinagar for one way for both LMVs and HMVs on the highway, the only surface link connecting Kashmir with the rest of the world. (GNS)
