There was some respite from the intense cold conditions in Kashmir as the minimum temperature improved slightly even as the Valley braces up for a possible wet weather spell for a few days from Saturday, officials said on Friday. Srinagar recorded a low of minus 5.5 degrees Celsius on Thursday night against the season's lowest of minus 6.4 degrees the night before, the officials said.
Qazigund, the gateway to the Valley, registered a minimum of minus 5.8 degrees Celsius, while Kupwara, a frontier district, recorded a minimum of minus 5.6 degrees. Kokernag in south Kashmir recorded a low of minus 4.3 degrees, the officials said.
The tourist resort town of Pahalgam in Anantnag district, which also serves as a base camp for the annual Amarnath Yatra, registered a low of minus 8.6 degrees Celsius -- up from minus 9.2 degrees. The minimum temperature in Gulmarg, the famous ski resort town in north Kashmir's Baramulla district, recorded a temperature of minus 5 degrees Celsius, the officials said.
The Met office has said the weather was likely to remain cloudy but mainly dry on Friday. It, however, forecast a possibility of light snow over scattered places towards the night with a 70 per cent chance of snowfall at many places over the next few days from Saturday.
Kashmir is currently under the grip of Chilla-i-Kalan, the 40-day harshest weather period when the chances of snowfall are maximum and most frequent. 'Chilla-i-Kalan' begins on December 21 and ends on January 30. The cold wave continues even after that with a 20-day-long 'Chilla-i-Khurd' (small cold) and a 10-day-long 'Chilla-i-Bachha' (baby cold) following it.
