Kashmir reels under sub-zero temperature

Kashmir reeled under sub-zero night temperature as the mercury went below the freezing point in Srinagar for the first time this season, setting-in the wintry conditions in the valley, officials said on Sunday.

Several areas in Kashmir were engulfed by a layer of fog on Sunday morning as the mercury went below the freezing point across the valley, they said.

It is for the first time this season that all the weather stations in the Kashmir Valley recorded the sub-zero night temperature, the officials said.


Srinagar recorded a low of minus 0.9 degrees Celsius last night -- down from 0.1 degrees Celsius the previous night.

The city recorded its coldest night this season, the officials said, adding that it was also for the first time this season that the mercury slipped below the freezing point in the city.

They said Pahalgam, which serves as the base camp for annual Amarnath Yatra, recorded a low of minus 3.5 degrees Celsius. Pahalgam was the coldest recorded place in Kashmir.

Gulmarg resort in north Kashmir Baramulla district recorded a minimum temperature of minus 1.8 degrees Celsius.

The mercury in Kupwara in north Kashmir settled at a low of minus 1.3 degrees Celsius.

Qazigund, the gateway town to the valley, recorded minus 1.2 degrees Celsius, while Kokernag town in the south recorded a low of minus 0.3 degrees Celsius.

The wintry conditions in Kashmir have set-in much ahead of the beginning of extreme harsh weather conditions, which usually start around the third week of December.

'Chillai Kalan', the 40-day period of harsh winter in Kashmir, begins on December 21 every year.

The Meteorological (MeT) Department has said the weather is most likely to remain dry till November 20.

However, there is a possibility of very light snow at one or two places in the higher reaches of Jammu and Kashmir over the next 24 hours, it said.