Met predicts cloudy, dry weather in J&K till March 17

The meteorological department has predicted generally cloudy but dry weather in Jammu and Kashmir till March 17 while as the minimum temperature recorded a slight decrease on Tuesday.

Quoting a meteorological department official, Srinagar recorded a low of 5.3°C against 5.8°C on the previous night and it was 1.6°C above normal for the summer capital.

Qazigund, he said, recorded a low of 2.4°C against 3.5°C on the previous night and it was 0.1°C above normal for the gateway town of Kashmir.

Pahalgam, he said, recorded a low of minus 0.4°C against 1.2°C on the previous night and it was 0.8°C above normal for the famous tourist resort in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district.

Kokernag recorded a low of 4.5°C against 4.9°C on the previous night and it was 2.0°C above normal for the place, the officials said.

Gulmarg recorded a low of 0.6°C against minus 0.4°C on the previous night and it was 2.9°C above normal for the world famous skiing resort in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, he said.

In Kupwara town, he said, the mercury settled at 2.8°C against 2.7°C on the previous night and it was 0.5°C above normal for the north Kashmir area.

Jammu recorded a low of 14.7°C against 14.8°C on the previous night. It was 0.7°C above normal for J&K’s winter capital, he said.

Banihal, he said, recorded a low of 4.7°C (above normal by 0.5°C), Batote 6.7°C (normal), Katra 13.6°C (1.9°C above normal) and Bhadarwah 4.9°C (1.9°C above normal).

Ladakh’s Leh and Kargil, he said, recorded a low of minus 4.2°C and minus 3.9°C respectively.

He said till March 17, “generally cloudy with dry weather” was expected.

“Afternoon thunderstorms at isolated places can’t be ruled out,” the official said, adding, “Generally cloudy with intermittent light rain with thunder at scattered places was expected during March 18-21.”