Kashmir Valley experiences coldest days of season, Srinagar at -5.4°C, Pahalgam -5.8°C

Srinagar recorded the consecutive coldest night of the season, with temperature plunges to -5.4°C on Thursday against the -5.3°C recorded on Wednesday. It was 4.4°C below normal for the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, the Meteorological Office said.

Some interior parts of the iconic Dal Lake have also frozen due to the dip in temperature. Reports of other water bodies and tap water pipes were also frozen due to the impact of the temperature.

Pahalgam remained the coldest place and had a low of -5.8°C against the -5.3°C recorded the previous night. It was 2.0°C below normal for south Kashmir's tourist hot spot.

The minimum temperature at Gulmarg improved slightly and was recorded at -5.0°C on Thursday, compared against the -5.5°C recorded a day ago. It was 0.8°C below normal for the famous ski resort of North Kashmir.

The mercury at Qazigund on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway slipped to -3.8°C against the -3.2°C recorded the previous night, while Kokernag had a low of -1.6°C against -2.1°C recorded a day ago.

The minimum temperature at Kupwara further plummeted to -4.2°C against the -3.7°C recorded the previous night. It was 2.5°C below normal for the frontier north Kashmir district, the MeT office said.

The MeT office forecasts weather likely to remain clear at most places on Thursday and mainly dry till December 15.

A Western Disturbance (WD) is likely to hit on December 16–17 and can cause light snowfall over the higher reaches of Jammu and Kashmir, the MeT office said.

The weather will mainly remain dry from December 18–22, with dry and cold conditions likely to continue over most places in Jammu and Kashmir.

Shallow to moderate fog will also hunt at many places in the Kashmir division during the period, the MeT office said.