KN MONITORING DESK
SRINAGAR: The chill tightened its hold over Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh on Sunday as temperatures dipped well below freezing across large parts of the Kashmir Valley, marking another bitter night of winter.
Meteorological figures shared by the local weather office show a widespread plunge in nighttime temperatures, contributing to one of the most frigid spells witnessed so far this season.
Pulwama and Shopian emerged as the coldest locations in the valley, with minimum readings of -5.0°C and -5.1°C. Baramulla also shivered at -4.6°C, followed closely by Pampore at -4.5°C. In Srinagar, the summer capital, the mercury stood at -3.2°C, reflecting the severity of the ongoing cold wave.
Among the tourist destinations, Pahalgam settled at -4.0°C, Gulmarg at -1.9°C and Qazigund recorded -2.5°C. The locality around Srinagar Airport dipped further to -3.6°C, while Kupwara and Awantipora also hit -3.2°C.
Higher mountain passes and remote pockets endured even harsher conditions. The icy Zojila Pass recorded a staggering -16.0°C, the lowest in the extended region. Sonamarg meanwhile touched -3.2°C. Data from Anantnag was unavailable at the time of reporting.
In Jammu division, temperatures were noticeably milder except in certain locations. Jammu city recorded a low of 10.0°C, while Banihal fell below zero at -1.2°C. Bhaderwah logged 0.5°C, with Udhampur and Ramban recording 5.4°C and 5.2°C respectively.
Katra and Kathua both registered 9.2°C, while Rajouri and Kishtwar recorded minimums of 3.3°C and 3.9°C. The Jammu Airport area reported a low of 9.9°C.
Over in Ladakh, conditions remained severe with deep winter conditions tightening their foothold. Leh saw temperatures of -8.2°C, while Kargil dipped to -8.6°C. Drass—consistently among the coldest inhabited locations in the country—registered -10.3°C, while Nyoma surpassed even that at -11.8°C. Nubra recorded -6.6°C and Padum -9.3°C.
Weather authorities anticipate that the cold spell is likely to persist, especially across higher elevations, with another drop in temperatures expected in the coming days.
Read more: https://nayakashmir.com/bjp-working-to-keep-indian-muslims-suppressed-says-juh-chief/
