Chillai Kalan ends in Valley, no relief from cold in HP

NEWDELHI: In a respite for people in Kashmir, temperatures across the region increased by a few notches today while severe cold conditions prevailed in Himachal Pradesh.

The Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SESE) also issued an avalanche warning in several districts of Jammu and Kashmir for the next 24 hours, following an 6.2 magnitude earthquake on the Afghanistan-tajikistan border region that jolted parts of north India.

The national capital witnessed shallow fog in the morning with the minimum temperature settling at 9.9 degrees Celsius.

In Srinagar, the MET department said that no major snowfall was reported in Kashmir and that the night temperature rose across the Valley.

During Chillai-kalan, the possibility of snowfall is maximum. But this year, the period was the driest in four decades.

The department said that all weather stations in the valley except Pahalgam and Gulmarg recorded minimum temperatures above the freezing point.

Srinagar -- Jammu and Kashmir’s summer capital -- recorded a minimum temperature of 3.5 degrees Celsius while Gulmarg, a popular ski-resort, recorded a low of minus 3.6 degrees Celsius and Pahalgam minus 2.5 degrees Celsius.

Kargil in the Ladakh region continued to freeze at minus 15 degrees Celsius and Leh at minus 7.1 degrees Celsius, the MET department said. The SESA has “informed that medium danger avalanche warning of level-3 exists in higher reaches of Baramulla district.