Chill continues as Leh records -16.3 degrees

Kashmir valley and Leh region continue to reel under intense cold and dry weather conditions with night temperatures dipping several notches below freezing point on Thursday.

A MeT Department official said Leh, in the frontier Ladakh region, recorded the coldest night of the season at minus 16.3 degrees Celsius against previous night’s minus 13.2 degrees while in neighbouring Kargil town minimum temperature settled at minus 14.6 degrees Celsius, compared to previous nights minus 9.0 degrees.

In ski resort of north Kashmir’s Gulmarg, the minimum night temperature settled at minus 7.6 degrees Celsius as compared to the previous night’s minus 7.5 degrees. Gulmarg was the coldest recorded place in Kashmir, he said.

Tourists and locals have flocked Gulmarg to welcome New Year though the weathermen have forecast continued dry weather for the next five days.

The minimum temperature in Pahalgam hill resort in south Kashmir, which serves as a base camp during Amarnath yatra, was down by over one degree to settle at minus 6.7 degrees Celsius from the previous night’s minus 5.4 degrees, the official said.

Minimum temperature in Srinagar dropped by nearly a degree to settle at a low of minus 4.0 degree Celsius as compared to 3.3 degrees the previous night.

He said minimum temperature in the highway town of Qazigund in south Kashmir was minus 3.2 degrees Celsius, against previous night’s 2.4 degrees.

‘Chillai Kalan’ effect
Kashmir is currently going through ‘Chillai-Kalan’, considered as the harshest 40-day winter period, which started on December 21.

With the MeT Department predicting chances of snowfall from January 4 onwards,
the bone-chilling cold conditions could continue till next week.

The dry and cold weather conditions have led to increase in respiratory diseases among people across Kashmir.

The doctors have advised people, especially children and elderly, to avoid coming out of their homes during morning and evening hours.
DH News Service