Intense cold wave conditions return to Kashmir
North India too feels the chill
Srinagar/ New Delhi: The cold wave sweeping Kashmir intensified on Thursday as the mercury fell several notches to settle well below the freezing point across the valley, officials said here.
Srinagar city — the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir — recorded a low of minus 5.9 degrees Celsius, which was over three degrees below the previous night’s minus 2.2 degrees Celsius.
Gulmarg tourist destination in north Kashmir recorded 10.4 degrees Celsius as against the previous night’s low of minus 11 degrees Celsius, the officials said.
They said Gulmarg was the coldest recorded place in the valley. Pahalgam, which serves as the base camp for annual Amarnath yatra in south Kashmir, recorded a low of minus 9.6 degrees Celsius.
Qazigund the gateway town to the valley recorded the minimum of minus 6.2 degrees Celsius, while Kupwara, in the north, registered a low of minus 5.8 degrees Celsius and Kokernag, in the south, minus 7.8 degrees Celsius, the officials said.
Kashmir is currently under the grip of ‘Chillai-Kalan’ — the 40-day harshest winter period when a cold wave grips the region and the temperature drops considerably leading to the freezing of water bodies including the famous Dal Lake here as well as the water supply lines in several parts of the valley.
The chances of snowfall are most frequent and maximum during this period and most areas, especially in the higher reaches, receive heavy snowfall, the officials said.
While ‘Chillai-Kalan’, which began on December 21, will end on January 31, the cold wave continues even after that in Kashmir with a 20-day-long ‘Chillai-Khurd’ (small cold) and a 10-day-long ‘Chillai-Bachha’ (baby cold). (PTI)
Meanwhile, the average minimum temperature in Delhi in December was the second-lowest in 15 years, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
Data released by the IMD on Thursday showed that the mean minimum temperature (MMT) this December was 7.1 degrees Celsius. It was 7.6 degrees Celsius last year.
The MMT for December in Delhi dipped below 7 degrees Celsius only once in the last 15 years, in 2018 when it was 6.7 degrees Celsius, it stated.
The average MMT for December was 6 degrees Celsius in 2005 and 5.9 degrees Celsius in 1996, according to the IMD data.
Delhi also recorded eight cold wave days this December. It had recorded an equal number of cold wave days in December 2018.
The city had recorded nine cold wave days in 1965, the maximum so far, the IMD said.
In the plains, the IMD declares a cold wave if the minimum temperature dips to 4 degrees Celsius.
A cold wave is also declared when the minimum temperature is 10 degrees Celsius or lower and at least 4.5 notches below normal.
According to Kuldeep Srivastava, the head of the IMD’s regional forecasting centre, clear skies over Delhi-NCR, multiple western disturbances affecting the Himalayan region and the global impact of La Nina were the major reasons behind such low minimum temperatures.
Delhi recorded “near-normal” minimum temperatures till December 12 as a result of clouds and rainfall in the plains under the influence of western disturbances affecting the region, he said.
Clouds trap some of the outgoing infrared radiation and radiate it back downward, warming the ground.
“After December 12, western disturbances mostly affected the western Himalayan region, leading to significant snowfall and rain over Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh,” Srivastava said.
After the wind system withdraws, cold north-westerly winds blow from Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh to Delhi-NCR, bringing the minimum temperature down, he said.
“Uplifted fog” over Punjab and Haryana made the winds even colder, he added.
“Besides, the sky over Delhi-NCR remained clear on most days. The global factor of La Nina further contributed to the fall in temperatures,” Srivastava said.
La Ni a is characterised by below-normal sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean near the equator, a result of shifting wind patterns in the atmosphere.
It means colder-than-normal winter across the Northern Hemisphere and warmer-than-average temperatures in the Southern Hemisphere. (PTI)
Press Trust of India
