Srinagar, Jan 2: After a few days of cloudy skies, the sun shone on Srinagar on Friday, casting a light across the cityscape and snow-capped mountains, while residents and tourists braved chilly temperatures.
However, Kashmir experienced a sharp dip in temperatures on Thursday night, with several towns recording lower-than-usual minimums under clear skies.
Srinagar’s minimum temperature fell to 0.1 degrees Celsius, dropping from 2.2 degrees Celsius recorded the previous night, the Meteorological Department officials said.
Gulmarg remained the coldest area in the region, with the mercury plunging to minus 7 degrees Celsius, about 1.5 degrees Celsius lower than the previous night, the officials said.
Temperatures in Pahalgam dropped to minus 6.2 degrees Celsius, a significant fall from minus 0.4 degrees Celsius the previous night.
Qazigund, the entry point to Kashmir, recorded minus 1.2 degrees Celsius, while Kokernag’s mercury settled at minus 0.5 degrees Celsius.
In north Kashmir, Kupwara experienced a minimum of 0.8 degrees Celsius.
The high-altitude areas of the Valley, including Snoamarg, Gulmarg, Chandanwari in Pahalgam, Sadhna Top, Razdan Top, Zojila, and Peer Ki Gali along the heritage Mughal Road, experienced low to moderate snowfall over the past 48 hours.
“Night temperatures dipped again as skies cleared, even as daytime conditions turned relatively warmer with sunshine breaking through after days of cloud cover,” said Sajad Ahmad Dar of Srinagar’s Lal Bazaar area.
Despite cold conditions, tourists were seen enjoying the New Year breaks in Gulmarg and Pahalgam.
“We are so happy to see such majestic snow-capped mountains for the first time,” said Sishir Kumar, a tourist from Uttar Pradesh.
Bundled up in several layers of clothing, Kumar said that despite the extreme winter chill, they were enjoying their trip.
According to IMD officials, weather conditions across J&K are expected to remain largely dry over the next two weeks.
The weather is expected to remain dry from January 2 to 5, while January 6 may see generally cloudy conditions with a chance of light snowfall over isolated higher reaches of north and central Kashmir.
From January 7 to 15, conditions are expected to be partly cloudy, with no major Western Disturbances forecast to impact the region until around January 20, except for a few weak systems.