Dry spell in Kashmir likely to end soon

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The intense cold wave continued in Kashmir today with temperatures staying several degrees below the freezing point, though the dry spell in the region may end in the next couple of days. The Meteorological (MeT) department has forecast rains or snowfall in isolated places and fairly widespread downpour tomorrow.

If the forecast comes good, it will end the dry spell this winter which has now entered the seventh week -- an unusual occurrence in Kashmir during January when chances of snowfall are maximum. Kargil, in Jammu and Kashmir's Ladakh region, saw the mercury dip by a degree last night to settle at minus 16 degrees Celsius, a MeT department official said.

He said that Kargil continued to be the coldest recorded place in the state while the temperature in nearby Leh settled at minus 11.9 degrees Celsius. Srinagar, the state's summer capital, recorded a minimum temperature of minus 4.8 degrees Celsius last night, up from minus 5.2 degrees Celsius on the previous night.

The night temperature in Qazigund, in south Kashmir, was minus 5 degrees Celsius while nearby Kokernag registered a low of minus 1.9 degrees Celsius last night, the official said. He said that Kupwara, in north Kashmir, recorded a low of minus 4.2 degrees Celsius, up one degree from the previous night's minus 5.2 degrees Celsius.

The official said the night temperature in Pahalgam -- a base camps for the annual Amarnath Yatra -- settled at a low of minus 5.6 degrees Celsius. The famous ski resort of Gulmarg, in north Kashmir, recorded a low of minus 8.6 degrees Celsius. It was the coldest recorded place in the Valley last night. Kashmir has been going through extremely dry and cold weather conditions this winter, leading to health related problems among the children and elderly.

The region is currently under the grip of Chillai-Kalan a 40-day harshest period of winter when the chances of snowfall are most frequent and maximum and the temperature drops considerably. It ends on January 31, but the cold wave continues even after that in the valley. The 40-day period is followed by a 20-day long Chillai- Khurd (small cold) and a 10-day long Chillai-Bachha (baby cold).

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