Early Times Report
Srinagar, Jan 19: Ahead of another spell of light to moderate snowfall, the maximum temperature on Sunday witnessed a major improvement due to the Sunshine, though the mercury during the night dipped, due to open skies.
The border town of Leh was coldest in the region, recording minimum temperature of minus 16.3 degree Celsius, followed by the world famous health resort of Pahalgam, where the mercury dipped and settled at minus 13.7 degrees.
A Met department spokesperson said that weather will remain dry during the next 24 hours in Kashmir. However, he said a fresh Western Disturbance (WD), which originated from the Arabian sea and is approaching the region though Afghanistan and Pakistan, will hit the recently-created Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, on Monday evening.
''Under the influence of the WD, light to moderate snow would occur till January 22 from Monday,'' he added. After witnessing a dip of about 1.4 degrees in the night temperature from Saturday, people woke up to a chilly Sunday morning, due to ice cold winds. However, as the day progressed, Sun came out, resulting in major improvement in the day temperature, though ice cold winds continued. Against minus 1.4 degrees recorded on Saturday, the night temperature in Srinagar was minus 2.8 degrees, which is normal.
The night temperature at Pahalgam, which is under several feet of snow, dipped about 7 degrees from Saturday and settled at minus 13.7 degrees. The world famous ski resort of Gulmarg, about 55 km from here in north Kashmir, also witnessed a dip of about 3 degrees in the night temperature, which settled at minus 13.4 degrees. ''Tourists, including foreigners, woke up to a sunny morning in Gulmarg, where the ski slopes were covered under several feet of snow. People were enjoying different snow-related activities, including skiing, at the ski resort,'' a hotelier told .The slopes in Kongdori and Apharwat, the highest point of the cable car project in Gulmarg, are also under several feet of snow. The night temperature at Qazigund, gateway to the valley, Kupwara in north Kashmir and tourist resort of Kokernag, dipped and settled at minus 5.1 degrees, minus 5.9 degrees and minus 5.7 degrees, respectively. |
