Passage of a Western Disturbance from the hills of Jammu and Kashmir has led to a significant drop in the mercury levels, as a result of which temperatures are now recording subzero levels.
“Jammu and Kashmir was witnessing cloudy to overcast skies during the last two days due to the persisting Western Disturbance but with the clearance and passage of this system, skies became clear in the hills and temperatures dropped further”, explains a senior meteorologist at Skymetweather.com.
Minimum in Srinagar dropped to -3.4⁰C on Thursday morning, as opposed to -1.4⁰C on Wednesday. Jammu saw the mercury drop to 6.5⁰C from 8.2⁰C in the last 24 hours. Keylong in Himachal Pradesh also witnessed minimum drop to -5.8⁰C today. Tourist destinations like Manali, Leh and Pehalgam are also experiencing subzero temperatures.
“A new Western Disturbance is on its way but it isn’t strong enough to have a significant impact on the temperatures of northern plains. However, there are chances of smog in Delhi and the adjoining plains due to a change in the wind pattern from dry northwesterly to humid easterlies”, added the meteorologist.
In the last 24 hours, temperatures in Delhi and the adjoining plains rose by a couple of notches in view of the existing Western Disturbance. Though this change was temporary, the temperatures will again witness a drop by about 2 to 3 degrees towards the weekend.
Meanwhile, weather models at Skymet predict colder days ahead for the country, particularly North India.
Notably, rain in J&K sets the pace for winter in India which has been erratic and insufficient in the state. Srinagar records 49.3 mm of rain in the month of December but the city hasn’t witnessed any rain yet.
Photo by newshopper.sulekha
