Valley reels under coldwave, MeT predicts dry weather for next two days

The summer capital Srinagar recorded a minimum of -3.6°C during the intervening night of Sunday and Monday

With the continuing coldwave conditions in Kashmir, the MeT has predicted dry weather for next two days.

A boatman rows his boat across the Dal lake on cold day in Srinagar on Monday. (Waseem Andrabi /HT)

The summer capital Srinagar recorded a minimum of -3.6°C during the intervening night of Sunday and Monday.

Kashmir’s harshest 40-day winter period started on Saturday with record breaking cold in decades. There has not been any major snowfall in the plains so far in the past two months. However, the upper reaches has witnessed snowfall three to four times in past two months. The Kashmir is still waiting for a big snowfall that could recharge water sources. Last year, the Valley had observed big snowfall in the last week of January.

The coldest place in the valley during the night was south Kashmir’s Konibal in Pampore at -6°C, up from -6.5 degree Celsius on the night earlier.

Southern hill resort of Pahalgam recorded a low of -5°C while the gateway into Kashmir at Qazigund witnessed -4°C.

In North Kashmir, the coldest place recorded by the MeT was the ski resort of Gulmarg in Baramulla where mercury dropped to -4.8°C while the frontier district of Kupwara recorded a low of -4.3°C.

MeT office in Srinagar has predicted dry weather for next two days and light rain over plains of Jammu and light snow over higher reaches of Chenab valley and Pirpanjal Range towards late afternoon from December 27 to 28. “There will be generally dry weather from December 29 to 31 with light snow at isolated higher reaches,” the MeT office said.

The MeT office has issued an advisory saying that there could be fall in minimum temperature by 2-3°C for next four days.