The minimum temperature dropped slightly in most parts of Kashmir where the tourist resorts of Gulmarg and Pahalgam received fresh snowfall, officials said.
The minimum temperature in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, settled at a low of 2.2 degrees Celsius- half-a-degree down from the previous night, they added.
An official from the India Meteorological Department said, “Rain/snow occurred in J&K and Ladakh on Thursday. Weather is likely to be cloudy during the next 24 hours.
“Foggy morning conditions prevailing in Jammu plains is likely to end tomorrow”, IMD official told.
Gulmarg, the skiing resort in Baramulla district of north Kashmir, recorded a low of minus 5.0 degrees Celsius. Pahalgam in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district, which serves as the base camp for the annual Amarnath yatra, recorded a low of minus 0.6 degrees Celsius, up from the previous night’s minus 1.9 degrees Celsius, they added.
Qazigund, the gateway town to the valley, recorded a minimum of 0.7 degrees Celsius, while the nearby south Kashmir town of Kokernag recorded a low of minus 0.1 degrees Celsius.
The minimum temperature in Kupwara in north Kashmir settled at a low of 1.2 degrees Celsius.
Jammu city clocked 8.5 degrees, Katra 7.5, Batote 2.1, Banihal 1.4 and Bhaderwah 1.6 as the minimum temperature.
Meanwhile, in the Ladakh region, Drass registered minus 15.9 degree, Leh minus 6.1 and Kargil minus 15.0 as the night’s lowest temperature.
The weather will remain partly to generally cloudy in J-K with the possibility of a spell of light rain or snow during January 22-23.
Thereafter, the weather is likely to stay mainly dry till the end of the month and there is no forecast of any major rain or snow till the end of January.
‘Chilla-i-Kalan’ is a period when a cold wave grips the region and the temperature drops considerably leading to the freezing of water bodies including the famous Dal Lake here as well as the water supply lines in several parts of the valley.
The chances of snowfall are the most frequent and maximum during this period and most areas, especially in the higher reaches, receive heavy to very heavy snowfall.
The ‘Chilla-i-Kalan’ will end on January 31, but the cold wave continues even after that in Kashmir with a 20-day-long ‘Chillai-Khurd’ (small cold) and a 10-day-long ‘Chillai-Bachha’.