Kashmir recorded its coldest night of the season as the temperature plummeted way below zero during the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday.
Minimum temperature in Srinagar city touched -4.8 degrees Celsius on Wednesday while at the famous hill station of Gulmarg, the temperatures dipped to -11 degrees Celsius.
In Pahalgam, temperature was recorded at -7 degrees Celsius. “The night was cold in Srinagar that witnessed a low of -4.8 degrees. Other areas also saw chilling temperatures in the valley,” said an official of the meteorological department.
The weather in Ladakh has also been very harsh over the past few days. The latest temperature recorded in Leh was -10.8 degrees Celsius.
The night temperatures in J&K have started dipping from Monday since the snowfall on Saturday. The Met department has predicted dry weather till next week, which would mean more drop in the temperatures.
Srinagar got this season’s first spell of snowfall on Saturday. Some areas in South Kashmir and the upper reaches received heavy snow yet again after a fresh western disturbance hit the region.
Traditionally, the period of winters is primarily divided in three stages in Kashmir. The first phase lasts for 40 days starting from December 21. It is a particularly harsh winter period and is known as Chillai Kalan. This is followed by the second phase that lasts 20 days and is usually considered to be less intense in terms of the cold. This phase is known as Chillai Khurd. Finally, the last phase is of 10 days, which is even milder and is locally known as Chille Bache.
