Gulmarg records minus 8.8 as sub-zero temperature grips Kashmir

Gulmarg tourist resort recorded the coldest night of this winter as mercury flipped nearly nine degrees below freezing point, officials said here on Monday.

The popular ski resort in north Kashmir's Baramulla district recorded a minimum temperature of minus 8.8 degrees Celsius after receiving another spell of snowfall on Sunday, the officials said. They said the minimum temperature in Gulmarg for the past two nights was minus 6.5 degrees Celsius.

In Srinagar, the minimum temperature dipped slightly to minus 3.6 degrees Celsius on Sunday night, compared to minus 3.2 degrees Celsius on Saturday night. The tourist resort of Pahalgam in south Kashmir recorded a low of minus 4.8 degrees Celsius.

Qazigund, the gateway town of the valley, saw the minimum settling at minus 2.0 degrees Celsius, Kokernag recorded a low of minus 1.2 degrees Celsius, while Kupwara in north Kashmir registered a minimum of minus 1.8 degrees Celsius.

The region is currently in the midst of 'Chilla-e-Kalan', the 40-day period of extreme cold, during which night temperatures often drop several degrees below the freezing point. During this period, the chances of snowfall are most frequent and maximum as well.

However, the plains of the valley have not received any snowfall so far this season.

The India Meteorological Department forecasts light rains or snow at isolated places in the higher reaches of north and central Kashmir on January 5 and 6.