No respite from intense cold in Kashmir valley

Cold wave conditions continued unabated in Kashmir Valley with minimum temperatures remaining several degrees below the freezing point. The minimum temperature in the summer capital Srinagar dropped by half a degree as the mercury here settled at minus 3.1 degrees Celsius as compared to Tuesday's minus 2.5 degrees Celsius, a MeT official said.

The south Kashmir resort of Pahalgam recorded a low of minus 3.2 degrees Celsius, while north Kashmir's skiing resort Gulmarg, the star attraction for tourists visiting the Valley during winter, recorded a minimum temperature of minus 7.2 degrees Celsius.

The minimum temperature in Leh town in the remote Ladakh region rose by nearly two degrees to settle at minus 13.0 degrees Celsius, while in nearby Kargil town the night temperature was recorded at minus 13.4 degrees Celsius, the official said.

Meanwhile, the month-long dry spell in the Valley may soon end as the state weather department has forecast rain and snowfall in parts of the Valley over the next three days even as cold wave continues unabated in the region.

The MeT department has issued an advisory warning land and air transport systems of the state may be disrupted as the western disturbances, which cause rains and snowfall, over the state are likely to intensify.

The advisory said light to moderate rain and snowfall will occur at most places of Pirpanjal ranges of Kashmir division and at isolated places over higher reaches of Jammu and Ladakh region.

One or two places may receive rather heavy snowfall, three centimeters and above, the department said. The Kashmir Valley has been reeling under intense cold since start of 'Chillai Kalan', a forty-day period of extreme chilling weather, on December 21.

The Valley has been going through an extended dry spell which has resulted in an increase in common ailments like cough, cold and respiratory problems, particularly among the children and elderly.