नवीनतम
Kashmir shivers as intense cold wave grips valley
SRINAGAR [Maha Media]: Large parts of Jammu and Kashmir shivered on Thursday morning after the region recorded the coldest night of the season so far, with several stations dropping well below the freezing point and Srinagar plunging to minus 4.4 degrees Celsius.
According to data from meteorological authorities, Kashmir recorded a sharp overnight drop in minimum temperatures. Shopian district in the south remained the coldest inhabited area in the Valley at minus 6.5 degrees Celsius, followed closely by nearby Pulwama and northern Baramulla district, which both touched minus 5.8 degrees Celsius. Anantnag recorded minus 5.7 degrees, while Pampore and the Srinagar Airport area also stayed deeply frozen at minus 5.5 degrees and minus 5.2 degrees, respectively.
In Srinagar city, the temperature dipped to minus 4.4 degrees, matching Kupwara’s reading. Qazigund and Awantipora settled at minus 4 degrees, while Ganderbal recorded minus 3.3 degrees. The ski destinations Gulmarg and Kokernag registered minus 1 degrees and minus 1.6 degrees, respectively. Sonamarg, another popular tourist spot, remained cold at minus 4 degrees.
The harshest temperature in the Valley, however, came from the strategic Zojila Pass, recording a bone-chilling minus 16 degrees Celsius, making it the coldest location in the entire region.
The Jammu plains experienced milder but noticeably colder conditions. Jammu city recorded a minimum of 8.7 degrees Celsius, while the Jammu Airport logged 10.1 degrees. Katra, Kathua, Samba and Reasi recorded temperatures between 6.9 and 8.5 degrees.
Hilly stations saw a more pronounced dip, with Banihal dropping to minus 1.5 degrees and Bhaderwah registering 0.4 degrees. Rajouri touched 2 degrees, and Ramban 4.1 degrees.
In Ladakh, the cold tightened its grip with Kargil recording minus 9.5 degrees Celsius, followed by Leh at minus 8.6 degrees and Nubra at minus 7.7 degrees.
Director Meteorological Department Dr Mukhtar Ahmad said temperatures across Jammu and Kashmir are expected to fall further by 1 to 2 degrees Celsius over the next seven days.
He said shallow to moderate fog is likely to persist at many places in the Kashmir division and at isolated locations in the Jammu division. According to him, the weather will generally remain dry until December 1. On December 2, cloud cover is expected to increase toward the afternoon. A brief spell of very light snowfall over isolated higher reaches cannot be ruled out that day.
Dry weather is likely on December 3 and 4. Cloudy conditions may develop again on December 5, followed by another stretch of dry weather from December 6 to December 10.
Dr Ahmad also confirmed that the dust reported from various parts of the Valley has originated from a long-distance atmospheric transport phenomenon.
“Satellite imagery shows dust drifting from parts of Ethiopia toward India. Its impact depends on wind direction, but such long-distance movement is not unusual,” he said.
