Srinagar: Weather department on Sunday forecast light rain in plains and light to moderate Rain and snow in middle and higher reaches from late afternoon of February 20 to early morning of February 20. Also, mercury settled above sub-zero level across Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.
A meteorological department official said that while Srinagar recorded a low of 6.7°C against the previous night’s 2.9°C . Today’s minimum temperature, he said, was above normal by 6.6°C for the summer capital.
Qazigund, he said, recorded a low of 4.4°C against 1.8°C on the previous night and it was 4.5°C above normal for the gateway town of Kashmir.
Pahalgam, he said, recorded a low of 2.1°C against minus 1.4°C on the previous night and it was 6.5°C above normal for the famous tourist resort in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district.
Kokernag recorded a low of 3.2°C against 1.9°C on the previous night and it was 4.1°C above normal for the place, the officials said.
Gulmarg recorded a low of 2.0°C against 0.2°C on the previous night and it was 8.8°C above normal for the world famous skiing resort in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, he said.
In Kupwara town, he said, the mercury settled at 5.1°C against 1.2°C on the previous night and it was 5.3°C above normal for the north Kashmir area.
Jammu recorded a low of 14.1°C against 11.3°C on the previous night. It was 3.6°C above normal for J&K’s winter capital, he said.
Banihal, he said, recorded a low of 5.8°C (above normal by 6.7°C), Batote 9.6°C (above normal by 4.5°C), Katra 13.6°C (5.5°C above normal) and Bhadarwah 7.3°C (7.0°C above normal).
Ladakh’s Leh and Kargil recorded a low of minus 1.2°C and minus 5.2°C respectively, the official said.
While Chillai-Kalan, the 40-day long harsh winter period that started on December 21 has ended, Kashmir is under the grip of a 20-day-long period called ‘Chillai-Khurd’. It will be followed by a 10-day-long period ‘Chillai-Bachha’ (baby cold) which is from February 20 to March 1.

KR Desk