Slight respite from cold as fresh snowfall hits Kashmir

Kashmir received fresh snowfall on Saturday leading to an increase in the minimum temperature which brought relief to people from intense cold conditions.

"The upper reaches of the Valley received fresh snowfall from Friday night while there is a prediction for more snow and rains in the next 24 hours," a MeT official said and added that the famous ski-resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir received around two feet of fresh snowfall during the night.

Owing to the overnight cloudy sky, the minimum temperature improved by several notches across the valley and Ladakh region, he said. Srinagar recorded a minimum temperature of minus 0.1 degree Celsius, compared to the previous night's minus 3.7 degrees.

Gulmarg registered a low of minus 6.5 degrees Celsius and was the coldest recorded place in the Valley, the official said. The night temperature at Pahalgam resort, which also serves as one of the base camps for the annual Amarnath yatra in south Kashmir, settled at a low of minus 2.5 degrees Celsius - over seven degrees up from minus 10.0 degrees Celsius the previous night.

Leh town in the cold desert Ladakh region was the coldest recorded place in the two union territories with a low of minus 18.3 degrees Celsius
Kashmir is currently under the grip of ‘Chillai Kalan’, the 40-day harshest period of winter when the chances of snowfall are most frequent and maximum, and the temperature drops considerably. ‘Chillai Kalan’ began on December 21 and ends on January 30, but the cold wave continues even after that in Kashmir. The 40-day period is followed by a 20-day long

‘Chillai Khurd’ (small cold) and a 10-day long ‘Chillai Bachha’ (baby cold). Meanwhile, Srinagar-Jammu national highway, the only road linking the Kashmir valley with the rest of the country, remained closed for the fourth day on Saturday due to fresh snowfall and landslides.

However, a traffic police official said several hundred stranded vehicles, mostly carrying passengers, were allowed to move on Friday evening before fresh landslides at Digdol forced suspension of the traffic again.