STATE TIMES NEWS
SRINAGAR: The minimum temperatures nose-dived on Thursday night at several places in Kashmir with some towns recording the coldest night in past 16 years, officials said here on Friday.
Gulmarg skiing resort in north Kashmir recorded a low of minus 12 degrees Celsius, a drop of more than four degrees compared to previous night’s minus 7.6 degrees Celsius, the officials said.
Pahalgam tourist resort in south Kashmir, which serves as the base camp for the annual Amarnath yatra, recorded a low of minus 11.9 degrees Celsius, a drop of 7.8 degrees from the previous night.
Kokernag and Qazigund towns in south Kashmir both recorded a low of minus 9.4 degrees Celsius, the officials said.
Jammu-Srinagar NH remains closed, 400 vehicles stranded
SRINAGAR: The arterial Jammu-Srinagar national highway remained closed for the second day on Friday due to landslip at various places, officials said. Authorities were trying to clear the landslip debris and restore the traffic on the road connecting Kashmir to rest of the country.
More than 400 vehicles are stranded at various places along the highway, the officials said.
The 270-km road was closed for traffic on Thursday following landslip at several places, including Sherbibi, Magerkote, Mehad Cafeteria and Dalwas, along the highway, the officials said.
Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, recorded a low of minus 0.3 degrees Celsius.
While IMD Srinagar officials release data for only six major weather stations in the Valley, a private weather forecaster claimed that Larnoo in Kokernag was the coldest recorded place in Kashmir where the mercury plunged to minus 17.1 degrees Celsius followed by Sonamarg resort on Srinagar-Leh highway which recorded a low of minus 15.1 degrees Celsius.
“Records break as extreme cold wave hits south Kashmir, parts of Jammu region and Sonamarg. Larnoo in Kokernag coldest at -17.7 C, followed by Sonamarg at -15.1 C,” private weather forecaster Faizan Arif posted on his X handle.
He said the temperature in Qazigund was the lowest in the past 16 years.
“Qazigund today’s temperature = -9.4 C. Previous Record = -12.2 C on 13 Feb 2008. Summary = Lowest temperature in the last 16 years,” he said in a related post.
Although ‘Chilla-i-Kalan’ – the 40-day harshest winter period – ended earlier this week, the cold wave has continued in Kashmir. The Valley is currently going through a 20-day-long ‘Chilla-i-Khurd’ (small cold) which shall be followed by a 10-day ‘Chilla-i-Bachha’ (baby cold).