Gulmarg Shivers At Minus 10.6°C, More Snowfall Predicted For Kashmir

SRINAGAR: Kashmir continues to grapple with freezing conditions as across the Valley even as the Meteorological Department predicted snow and rains in most places in Jammu and Kashmir.

The summer capital of the Jammu and Kashmir, Srinagar city recorded a low of minus 1.7°C, the gateway town of Kashmir Valley, Qazigund at minus 5.4°C, hill town of Pahalgam at minus 8.3°C, hill town of Anantnag Kokernag at minus 5.4°C, north Kashmir town Kupwara at minus 2.4°C, and world-famous ski resort Gulmarg at minus 10.6°C.

Srinagar city had another spell of snowfall on Saturday with accumulation of another few inches during the last 24 hours. Snowfall in upper reaches experienced close to more than feet of accumulation during the past 24 hours.

The forecast for February 3-4 includes generally cloudy weather with the possibility of light to moderate snow or rains, particularly in higher reaches. The coming days are expected to witness heavy snowfall in isolated upper reaches, while February 5 is expected to be partly to generally cloudy weather with light snow in isolated higher regions.

From February 6-13, generally dry weather is anticipated as Kashmir transitions from ‘Chillai-Kalan’ to ‘Chillai-Khurd,’ a 20-day winter period.

It may be recalled that ‘Chillai-Kalan period of 40 days of peak winter remained mostly snowless across Kashmir valley raising concerns of water availability during the summer season.