Chillai Kalan 2023-24 makes frosty debut

Srinagar, Dec 21: On the first day of Chillai Kalan on Thursday, Srinagar recorded a minimum of minus 4.3 degrees Celsius while other parts of Kashmir also witnessed freezing temperatures while the India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted very light rains and snow over the higher reaches of Kashmir in the next 48 hours.

As per the IMD, a Western Disturbance persists as a trough in middle tropospheric westerlies over North India.

Such disturbances are essentially low-pressure systems that originate over the Mediterranean Sea and move eastwards while gathering moisture, which then gets dumped over North India.

Under the influence of this particular system, light rainfall and or snowfall is likely at isolated locations across J&K from Friday (December 22) to Sunday (December 24).

The MeT officials here said that Srinagar recorded below 2.8 degrees Celsius from the normal minus 1.5 degrees Celsius against the minus 4.3 degrees Celsius on Thursday.

“The maximum temperature in Srinagar was 0.6 degrees Celsius above normal of 9 degrees Celsius recorded the previous day,” they said.

The MeT officials said that Gulmarg ski resort in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district recorded a low of minus 3 degrees Celsius against minus 4.4 degrees Celsius recorded a day ago and it was 1.8 degrees Celsius above normal.

They said that mercury in Pahalgam improved further and was recorded at minus 5.8 degrees Celsius on Thursday against the minus 6.3 degrees Celsius recorded the previous night and it was 1.4 degrees Celsius below normal for the tourist hot spot of south Kashmir’s Anantnag district.

The MeT officials said that Kokernag in south Kashmir recorded a low of minus 3 degrees Celsius against minus 3.3 degrees Celsius recorded on Wednesday and it was 1.3 degrees Celsius below normal for the picnic spot.

They said that the mercury in Qazigund on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway settled at minus 4 degrees Celsius for the second consecutive day and it was 2.4 degrees Celsius below normal.

The MeT officials said that the minimum temperature in Kupwara in north Kashmir plunged to minus 4 degrees Celsius against the minus 3.5 degrees Celsius recorded the previous night and it was 2.4 degrees Celsius below normal for the frontier district.