Srinagar- The Meteorological Centre Srinagar has forecast mainly dry weather across Jammu and Kashmir till January 15, with cloudiness likely towards the evening, even as an intense cold wave continued to affect the region on Monday.
According to the MeT department, light rain or snowfall is expected at isolated to scattered higher reaches between January 16 and 17, while light to moderate rain or snow may occur at several places between January 20 and 22.
The department also said that minimum temperatures are likely to rise gradually in the coming days. However, moderate to dense fog is expected to persist over the plains of the Jammu division for the next five days.
Despite the forecast, cold wave conditions continued across Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, disrupting normal life and business activity, though minimum temperatures across most areas showed a marginal improvement compared to the previous day.
As per data available with the news agency Kashmir News Observer (KNO), Srinagar recorded a minimum temperature of minus 2.4 degrees Celsius, up from minus 5.2 degrees Celsius a day earlier. Qazigund registered minus 3.6 degrees, improving from minus 5.8 degrees, while Pahalgam recorded minus 3.4 degrees, compared to minus 7.6 degrees on Sunday.
Pulwama remained among the coldest places in the Kashmir Valley at minus 6.5 degrees Celsius, though it was warmer than the previous night’s minus 7.7 degrees. Shopian recorded minus 5.2 degrees, improving from minus 8.6 degrees, while Kupwara settled at minus 3.7 degrees, up from minus 5.6 degrees.
Gulmarg, the ski resort, recorded a minimum of minus 3.4 degrees Celsius, compared to minus 6.2 degrees a day earlier.
In the Jammu region, minimum temperatures largely hovered above freezing, though dense fog continued to disrupt early morning vehicular movement. Jammu city recorded a low of 3.4 degrees Celsius, slightly lower than Sunday’s 4.0 degrees, while Banihal registered 5.1 degrees, down from 7.1 degrees.
Samba recorded 0.7 degrees Celsius, improving from minus 0.7 degrees, while Rajouri saw temperatures rise to 0.8 degrees from minus 1.6 degrees.
Ladakh remained the coldest region, though temperatures there also showed a slight rise. Leh recorded minus 10.8 degrees Celsius, compared to minus 13.4 degrees a day earlier, while Hanle registered minus 15 degrees, up from minus 16.3 degrees. Kargil recorded minus 9.3 degrees, improving from minus 12.3 degrees.
Officials said dense fog across the plains of Jammu severely affected early morning traffic, while markets witnessed thin attendance as residents preferred to stay indoors due to harsh cold conditions.
