Srinagar/Shimla: Days are biting cold and nights freezing in Jammu and Kashmir, while in contrast in Himachal Pradesh the days are still balmy with the cold yet to set in.
In Kashmir Valley, Met officials Tuesday said there would be no respite from the biting cold for at least the next seven days as night temperatures would continue to dip further.
"The present cold weather conditions would continue for at least another seven days and the night temperatures, which have dipped below freezing point in the valley and the Ladakh region, are likely to fall further," said Sonam Lotus, director of the local weather office here.
The minimum temperature in Srinagar fell to minus 2.0 degrees Celsius Tuesday. It was minus 4.6 degrees in the north Kashmir`s Gulmarg ski resort while the south Kashmir Pahalgam hill station recorded a minimum of minus 5.0 degrees today.
"The minimum temperature was minus 11.4 degrees in Leh town of Ladakh region while Kargil town of the same region recorded a minimum of minus 6.2 degrees today," the weather office said.
"Winter normally starts in the valley by the middle of November, but in comparison to 2008, 2009 and 2010, this year the winter has set in a little earlier here," Lotus confirmed.
He said there was nothing abnormal about the ground frost noticed in the mornings in the valley these days. "This is a normal phenomenon connected with the cold winter weather," he said.
In Himachal Pradesh`s capital city of Shimla, the weatherman forecast dry conditions across the state for the next few days.
Dry air will continue to prevail over the state for next two to three days, Manmohan Singh, director of the meteorological office in Shimla said.
Most of the prominent tourist towns in Himachal Pradesh like Shimla, Narkanda, Kufri, Dharamsala and Dalhousie have been witnessing temperatures much above normal, he said.
Keylong, the headquarters of Lahaul and Spiti, was the coldest at minus 1.5 degrees Celsius, one degree more than what is average for this time of the season.
Shimla, situated at an altitude of 2,130 metres, recorded a low of at 8.5 degrees Celsius, 3.6 notches above average.
Dharamsala, the headquarters of Tibetan government-in-exile, recorded the night temperature at 7.7 degrees Celsius, one notch above average, while it was 1.4 degrees at tourist resort of Manali.
IANS
