Cold wave in Valley, chill rises in Jammu

Srinagar, Jan 16 (IANS) Despite a feeble morning sun struggling to register its presence, the cold wave continued in the Kashmir Valley on Saturday while people in the Jammu region piled on woollens to ward off the chill.

"The minimum temperature was minus 4 degrees Celsius in Srinagar city. It was minus 5.8 in Pahalgam and minus 6 in Gulmarg today (Saturday). Leh town recorded minus 14.5 while Kargil recorded minus 13.8 today," a meteorological department official said.

"In the Jammu region, the lowest night temperature was 9. It was 6.2 in Katra, 4.5 in Batote, 6.5 in Bannihal, 0.3 in Buaderwah and 3.8 in Udhampur.

"Dry weather is likely to continue in the state today," the official added.

After many days, people in Jammu city tried to cover themselves with more woollens and tweed coats to ward off the sudden chill that hit the city on Saturday.

"After the festival of Lohri we normally say goodbye to cold in Jammu, but due to morning fog for last two days and cloudy weather today, the chill factor in Jammu has increased," the weather office said.

The official, however, added there is nothing abnormal about Jammu sometimes getting colder after January 15.