Srinagar shivers at -4°C

Srinagar, Jan 12 : The continuous dry spell has resulted in increased temperatures across Jammu and Kashmir with Banihal setting a new all-time high record at 23.4 degrees Celsius on Thursday.

The Meteorological Department said that similar trends were observed in 2015, 2016, 2018, and previous years with extended dry spells.

"Due to prolonged dry spells, the maximum temperature at many stations recorded 6 to 8 degrees Celsius above normal, with the highest maximum temperature recorded over Banihal station,” the MeT officials said here adding that this surpasses the previous record of 22.6 degrees Celsius set on January 18, 2003.

However, they said, that the areas engulfed in dense fog including Jammu, Samba, and Kathua experienced temperatures of 9 to 10 degrees Celsius below normal on Thursday.

The dry weather is expected to persist until January 20, with weak Western Disturbances (WD) approaching on January 12 and 17 evenings.

Under the influence of these disturbances, generally, cloudy weather with light snow over isolated higher reaches is anticipated.

The period from January 18 to 20 is expected to see generally dry weather.

They said that the visibility would improve slightly on January 13 in Jammu, with a reduction in dense fog.

However, cold day conditions are expected to prolong until January 16.

In Kashmir, freezing weather conditions continued with Srinagar recording a low of minus 4 degrees Celsius on Thursday.

The minimum temperature was 1.9 degrees Celsius below normal for this time of the year.

Qazigund, Pahalgam, Kokernag, Kupwara, and Gulmarg also recorded temperatures either below normal or above normal for their respective locations.