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Clear sky leads to drop in temperatures in J&K
The minimum temperature in Drass dropped to minus 15 degrees Celsius, with Baltal recording Minus 9.4 degrees Celsius
The weather improved in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday, a day after widespread rains and snowfall yesterday, the meteorological department (MeT) said.
The temperatures, however, dropped further in the twin tourist resorts of Gulmarg in north Kashmir and Pahalgam in south Kashmir.
“The weather has improved completely, and the sky is expected to remain mostly clear with a tinge of moisture,” said meteorologist M Hussain Mir.
He said the weather is expected to remain cold, mostly during nights, and dry till November 18.
“There will be generally cloudy weather from the evening of November 18 to 19 with isolated rains at few places,” he said.
The clear weather will trigger a drop in night temperatures, mostly at places with snow-covered surfaces like the ski resort of Gulmarg.
“Gulmarg recorded a temperature of minus 4.6 degrees Celsius, 4 degrees below normal during the previous night. Similarly, Pahalgam in south Kashmir witnessed minus 3.4 degrees celsius - a fall of 2 degrees from normal,” he said.
Summer capital Srinagar recorded a minimum temperature of 4.5 degrees Celsius, almost 3 degrees above normal.
The plains will also witness a fall of 1-2 degrees in night temperatures in the coming days owing to the clear skies.
“Areas with snow surfaces will see a fall of 4-5 degrees below normal while it will fall 2 degrees in plains like Srinagar,” said Mir.
The temperatures also dropped to bone-freezing levels in Drass in Ladakh and the mountainous Baltal base camp of Amarnath shrine in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal.
“Minimum temperature in Drass dropped to minus 15 degrees Celsius today. Baltal recorded minus 9.4 degrees Celsius. Due to cloud cover, minimum temperatures stayed near or above normal at most places in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh,” Kashmir_Weather, an independent weather spotter, said in a tweet.
Meanwhile, Srinagar-Jammu national highway was closed temporarily on Tuesday morning after shooting stones hit the road near Panthal. The traffic was later allowed to ply after the road was cleared of debris.
Srinagar-Leh highway, also called Srinagar-Sonamarg-Gumri (SSG) road, was still closed while traffic remained suspended on the Mughal road connecting Shopian with the Jammu division. The two roads were closed following snowfall and rains on Monday.
“Traffic plying on Jammu-Srinagar NHW. Mughal road and SSG road are still closed,” the traffic department said in a tweet.
