A day after the onset of 'Chillai-Kalan' - the harshest 40-day period of winter - the night temperatures across Kashmir increased, providing a slight relief from the prevailing intense cold conditions in the Valley.
Srinagar - the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir - recorded a low of minus 5.0 degrees Celsius - up by 1.5 degrees from the previous night's minimum of minus 6.5 degrees Celsius which was the six-year low for the month of December, an official of the MET Department here said.
"Even though the minimum temperature increased, it was still three degrees below the normal," he said.
The cold wave in the Valley has resulted in freezing of some water bodies, including the fringes of the famous Dal Lake.
The mercury in Qazigund - the gateway town to Kashmir Valley - settled at a low of minus 5.3 degrees Celsius compared to minus 5.6 degrees Celsius yesterday.
The official said the north Kashmir town of Kupwara recorded a low minus 5.1 degrees Celsius, against minus 5.5 degrees Celsius the previous night.
He said Kokernag town of south Kashmir recorded a low of minus 3.7 degrees Celsius.
The official said Pahalgam health resort in south Kashmir - which serves as a base camp for the annual Amarnath Yatra - recorded a low minus 5.5 degrees Celsius - up from minus 6.9 degrees Celsius 24 hours earlier.
The resort continued to be the coldest place in the Valley, he said.
The mercury at the famous ski-resort of Gulmarg, in north Kashmir, settled at a low of minus 1.8 degrees Celsius, compared to yesterday's low of minus 2.2 degrees Celsius.
Leh, in Ladakh region of the state, registered a low of minus 12.1 degrees Celsius - up by nearly three degrees from the previous night's minus 14.9 degrees Celsius.
The official said Leh was the coldest recorded place in the state.
The mercury in the nearby Kargil town settled at a low of minus 9.3 degrees Celsius - an increase of over two degrees from the previous night's minus 11.4 degrees Celsius.
The Meteorological Department has predicted possibility of light rain or snowfall at isolated places over higher reaches of Kashmir Valley over the next 24 hours.
'Chillai-Kalan' - considered the harshest period of winter, when the chances of snowfall are most frequent and maximum and the temperature drops considerably, began yesterday on a dry note.
It ends on January 31 next year, but the cold wave continues even after that.
The 40-day period is followed by a 20-day long 'Chillai-Khurd' (small cold) and a 10-day long 'Chillai-Bachha' (baby cold).
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
