Srinagar: Cold wave conditions continued
unabated in Kashmir Valley with minimum temperatures remaining several degrees below the freezing point.
The minimum temperature in the summer capital Srinagar
dropped by half a degree as the mercury here settled at minus
3.1 degrees Celsius as compared to yesterday's minus 2.5
degrees Celsius, a MeT official said.
The south Kashmir resort of Pahalgam recorded a low of
minus 3.2 degrees Celsius, while north Kashmir's skiing resort
Gulmarg, the star attraction for tourists visiting the Valley
during winter, recorded a minimum temperature of minus 7.2
degrees Celsius.
The minimum temperature in Leh town in the remote Ladakh
region rose by nearly two degrees to settle at minus 13.0
degrees Celsius, while in nearby Kargil town the night
temperature was recorded at minus 13.4 degrees Celsius, the
official said.
Meanwhile, the month-long dry spell in the Valley may soon end as the state weather department has forecast rain and snowfall in parts of the Valley over the next three days even as cold wave continues unabated in the region.
The MeT department has issued an advisory warning land
and air transport systems of the state may be disrupted as the
western disturbances, which cause rains and snowfall, over the
state are likely to intensify.
The advisory said light to moderate rain and snowfall
will occur at most places of Pirpanjal ranges of Kashmir
division and at isolated places over higher reaches of Jammu
and Ladakh region.
One or two places may receive rather heavy snowfall,
three centimeters and above, the department said.
The Kashmir Valley has been reeling under intense cold
since start of 'Chillai Kalan', a forty-day period of extreme
chilling weather, on December 21.
The Valley has been going through an extended dry spell
which has resulted in an increase in common ailments like
cough, cold and respiratory problems, particularly among the
children and elderly.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, January 04, 2012, 13:34