The Meteorological Department has said that weather across Jammu and Kashmir will remain “mainly dry” for the next 10 days with a significant improvement in temperatures.
Director MeT, Sonam Lotus, said, “After the wet spell last week, weather has remained dry for the last few days in J&K and Ladakh and an increase in both day and night temperatures has been recorded.”
Summer capital Srinagar recorded minus 1.2 degrees Celsius on Monday night bringing a huge respite to people who reeled under a severe cold wave during the Chilai Kalan. Srinagar had recorded minus 8.8 degrees Celsius on the last night of Chilai Kalan on January 30, freezing water bodies and supply lines.
Lotus said minimum temperature was likely to be in the range of 0 degrees Celsius to minus 1 degree Celsius in several parts of the Valley including Srinagar. After a bright sunshine for the last three days, the weather remained cloudy on Tuesday. Ski-resort Gulmarg recorded minus 3.5 degrees Celsius and Pahalgam recorded minus 2.2 degrees Celsius on Monday night. As per MeT data, Qazigund recorded minus 4.3 degrees Celsius on Monday night, making it the coldest recorded station in the Valley.
The Valley recently witnessed the harshest Chilai Kalan in the last 30 years during which low temperatures caused freezing of water bodies including Dal Lake. Heavy snowfall during January 4 and 6 cut off the Valley from the rest of the world for five days after both air and surface traffic was affected.