Hanle at minus 14.5°C coldest in Ladakh, Sonamarg shivers at minus 8.3°C in Kashmir

Srinagar, Jan 19: Several places across Kashmir, parts of the Jammu region, and Ladakh recorded the lowest minimum temperatures this month, with intense cold conditions prevailing at high-altitude and interior locations, according to available temperature data.

In the Kashmir region, Sonamarg emerged as the coldest location, recording a minimum temperature of minus 8.3 degrees Celsius. It was followed by Pulwama at minus 5.1 degrees Celsius and Shopian at minus 4.7 degrees Celsius. Awantipora recorded minus 4.2 degrees Celsius, while Anantnag and Srinagar Airport registered minus 3.9 and minus 3.8 degrees Celsius respectively. Gulmarg also witnessed severe cold at minus 3.5 degrees Celsius.

In the Jammu region, only a few higher-altitude areas experienced near-freezing or sub-zero temperatures. Bhaderwah recorded the lowest minimum in the region at minus 0.5 degrees Celsius, followed by Udhampur at 0.4 degrees Celsius and Banihal at 0.7 degrees Celsius.

Ladakh continued to remain the coldest region overall. Hanle recorded the lowest temperature across all regions at minus 14.5 degrees Celsius. Leh followed at minus 8.0 degrees Celsius, while Kargil and Nubra Valley recorded minus 6.6 and minus 6.1 degrees Celsius respectively.

Weather officials said such low temperatures are typical for mid-January, especially in snowbound and high-altitude areas, and advised people in colder pockets to take necessary precautions. [KNT]