SRINAGAR: After a hiatus of over a decade, Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu & Kashmir, has experienced a temperature of 15 degrees Celsius, reaching a level not seen since 2010 when the mercury touched 15.8 degrees Celsius.
At 15.0 degrees Celsius, the summer capital marked the sixth warmest day in January over the past 133 years.
January has previously witnessed high temperatures, with the all-time highest recorded on 23 Jan 1902 at 17.2 degrees Celsius. The second-highest temperature occurred on 25 Jan 2010 at 15.8 degrees Celsius, while the third-highest was on 31 Jan 2001 at 15.7 degrees Celsius.
The fourth and fifth highest temperatures were recorded on 09 Jan 1976 and 23 Jan 2003 at 15.5 and 15.1 degrees Celsius, respectively. Therefore, today’s maximum temperature ranks as the sixth highest since the observatory’s establishment in 1892.
Other parts of Kashmir have also registered record temperatures.
Qazigund recorded the hottest January day in the last 14 years at 15.8 degrees Celsius, the 3rd highest since 1956, with the all-time highest temperature of 16.2 degrees Celsius on 31 Jan 2001.
Pahalgam marked the hottest January day in the last six years at 13.1 degrees Celsius, the 3rd highest since 1978, with the all-time highest temperature at 13.8 degrees Celsius on 14 Jan 2018.
Independent Weather Forecaster Faizan Arif Keng said that Kupwara reached 15.8 degrees Celsius, the hottest January day in the last nine years, the 4th highest since 1977, with the all-time highest temperature recorded on 08 Jan 2015 at 16.9 degrees Celsius.
Batote, as per Faizan also recorded the hottest January day in the last nine years at 19.4 degrees Celsius, the 5th highest since 1977, with the all-time highest temperature of 22.6 degrees Celsius on 30 Jan 2015.
Additionally, the local weatherman predicts mostly dry conditions until January 23. Director of the Meteorological department, Dr Mukhtar Ahmad, mentioned a possibility of light snow over isolated higher reaches on January 16 and 20 under the influence of feeble Western Disturbances (WDs).
Moreover, after nearly a month, the night temperature recorded an improvement, with the minimum temperature in Srinagar settling above freezing point at 0.2 degrees Celsius.
Qazigund, the gateway of Kashmir, recorded a low of minus 2.0 degrees Celsius, while Gulmarg, a renowned ski-resort, marked a low of minus 1.0 degree Celsius.
Pahalgam, a popular tourist destination, recorded a minimum temperature of minus 0.6 degrees Celsius. In Kupwara, the mercury settled at minus 0.3 degrees Celsius, while in Kokernag, a minimum temperature of minus 1.2 degrees Celsius was recorded. (KNO)
