Snowy weather to return on Jan 31 evening: MeT
Drass shivers as mercury plunges to minus 31.4 deg C
Srinagar: The local Meteorological department on Monday forecasted a fresh snow spell across the Valley from Jan 30 evening, saying that a Western Disturbance (WD) would likely affect the Valley from February 04.
Deputy Director Meteorological department (MeT), Mukhtar Ahmad said that the Valley would experience a fresh snowfall from Jan 30 evening to Jan 31 evening here.
“As per the prediction, the Valley would receive another light spell of snowfall from Jan 30 evening while as the higher reaches would receive moderate snowfall,” he said.
He added that the weather would mostly remain cloudy in the coming days while as another Western Disturbance is also affecting the Valley from February 04.
However, he said that intensity of the fresh WD could not be forecasted so far.
Earlier, the Valley received adequate snowfall this January as forecasted by MeT department here. The first snowfall was experienced in Kashmir on Jan 01, which continued intermittently throughout the month.
The snowfall also led to the closure of Srinagar-Jammu highway several times in this month and the highway reopened after six day long closure on Monday.
Meanwhile, the mercury in Drass, the second coldest inhabited place in the world, plunged 31 degrees below freezing point even as Kashmir continued to reel under intense cold wave conditions prevailing over the past two months, MET officials said.
Drass in Kargil district registered a low of minus 31.4 degrees Celsius on Sunday night, an official of the MET department said.
The maximum temperature recorded in the remote area of Jammu and Kashmir was minus 12.5 degrees Celsius on Sunday, the official said.
In Leh district, the mercury settled at a low of minus 15.9 degrees Celsius last night while the maximum temperature was nearly two degrees below freezing point on Sunday, he added.
Kashmir Valley, meanwhile, continued to reel under the intense cold wave conditions.
The minimum temperature in Srinagar on Sunday night settled at minus 3.5 degrees Celsius two degrees down from minus 1.4 degrees Celsius the previous night, the official said.
He said Qazigund the gateway town to the valley in south Kashmir recorded a low of minus 5 degree Celsius, while nearby Kokernag town registered a low of minus 3.7 degrees Celsius on Sunday night.
The mercury in Kupwara town in north Kashmir settled at minus 6.3 degrees Celsius compared to previous night’s low of minus 6.5 degree Celsius, he said.
Gulmarg ski-resort in north Kashmir recorded a low of minus 12.6 degrees Celsius on Sunday night, a marginal dip over the previous night, while Pahalgam tourist resort, in south Kashmir, recorded a low of minus 13.6 degrees Celsius, the official said.
Kashmir is currently under the grip of ‘Chillai-Kalan’ the 40-day harshest period of winter when the chances of snowfall are most frequent and maximum and the temperature drops considerably.
‘Chillai-Kalan’ ends on January 31, but the cold wave continues even after that in Kashmir. The 40-day period is followed by a 20-day long ‘Chillai-Khurd’ (small cold) and a 10-day long ‘Chillai-Bachha’ (baby cold). (with PTI inputs)
KV Network
