Srinagar: The tourist resorts of Gulmarg and Pahalgam in Kashmir experienced fresh snowfall today, while other parts of the Valley received intermittent rains for the fourth consecutive day, with the MeT department saying the wet weather spell would continue till early next week. “Gulmarg received around three feet of snowfall, while Pahalgam recorded 4 cm of fresh snow during the night,” a MeT department spokesperson said.
He said the minimum temperature in Gulmarg, the famous ski-resort in north Kashmir and the star attraction for tourists especially skiers from abroad, settled at minus 4.4 degrees Celsius – down by nearly three degrees from minus 1.8 degrees Celsius yesterday. The mercury in Pahalgam hill resort in south, which serves as the base camp for the annual Amarnath yatra, settled at a low of minus 1.8 degrees Celsius – a decrease of over three degrees from 1.4 degrees Celsius yesterday, the spokesperson said.
Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, received 21.4 mm of rainfall in the night but the city
witnessed snowfall during the day – the data of which would be available in the evening, he said. He said the city recorded a low of 4 degrees Celsius, down from 5.4 degrees Celsius the previous night. Qazigund on Srinagar-Jammu national highway also received 12.2 mm of rains till 8:30 AM and recorded a low of 3.2 degrees Celsius, the spokesman said.
He said Kokernag, also in south Kashmir, registered the minimum temperature of 2.5 degrees Celsius and received 8.7 mm of rains. The mercury in Kupwara, in north Kashmir, settled at a low of 1.1 degrees Celsius, the spokesman said, adding the town received 22 mm of rainfall during the night. Leh, the frontier town in Ladakh region, recorded a low of minus 3.1 degrees Celsius compared to minus 4.4 degrees Celsius the previous night, the spokesman said.
He said the nearby Kargil town registered the minimum temperature of minus 8.6 degrees Celsius as against minus 7.2 degrees Celsius yesterday. Kargil continues to be the coldest recorded place in Jammu and Kashmir, he added. The Met department has said a fresh western disturbance is likely to affect the state from Sunday and spells of light to moderate rains or snowfall would occur at most places over the state till February 24.
