SRINAGAR, Feb 3: Night temperatures across Kashmir registered a slight increase, with Srinagar recording a minimum temperature of 2.8 degrees Celsius, more than three degrees higher than the normal seasonal average, officials said on Tuesday.
The rise in night temperatures in the summer capital has been gradual but consistent since the conclusion of Chillai Kalan, the valley’s harshest 40-day winter phase.
Gulmarg, the well-known ski destination in Baramulla district, remained the coldest place in Jammu and Kashmir, recording a low of minus 5.3 degrees Celsius. Despite this, the temperature there was about two degrees above the usual average of minus 7.4 degrees Celsius for this time of the year.Pahalgam, a popular tourist hub in south Kashmir and the base camp for the annual Amarnath Yatra, also saw a significant rise in minimum temperature. The mercury climbed by over four degrees to settle at minus 0.4 degrees Celsius.
Elsewhere in the Valley, Qazigund recorded a low of 0.4 degrees Celsius, Kokernag touched the freezing mark at zero degrees, while Kupwara registered a minimum temperature of minus 0.5 degrees Celsius.
Meanwhile, Chillai Khurd, the 20-day phase of comparatively milder cold, began on Saturday following the end of Chillai Kalan. This period will be succeeded by Chillai Bachha, a 10-day spell marking the final phase of winter cold in the region.
