Image Source: Agencies

Kashmir stayed in the grasp of a virus wave as the mercury remained a few degrees underneath edge of freezing over the previous evening, authorities said on Monday.

Srinagar city recorded a base temperature of short 4.3 degrees Celsius on Sunday night, practically same as earlier evening, the authorities said.

They said Qazigund recorded a low of short 4.2 degrees while in the ski resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir it was less 2.8 degrees Celsius.

Pahalgam in south Kashmir's Anantnag locale, which fills in as one of the headquarters for the yearly Amarnath Yatra, recorded a base temperature of less 5.6 degrees Celsius.

The base temperature in Kokernag town settled at short 2 degrees Celsius and in Kupwara at less 4.1 degrees Celsius.

A dry and to a great extent snowless winter in Kashmir has brought about freezing evenings and hotter than common days as Srinagar day temperatures were north of eight degrees over the ordinary temperature for this season, authorities said here.

Kashmir is right now under the grasp of "Chilla-I-Kalan", a 40-day brutal winter period, when a virus wave clears the district and temperatures decrease extensively prompting the freezing of water bodies as well as water in pipes.

The possibilities of snowfall are the most noteworthy during this period and most regions, especially the higher ranges, get weighty snowfall.

Kashmir has been going through a delayed drought and a 79 percent shortfall in precipitation was recorded for December while there has been no precipitation in many pieces of the valley in the first forthnight of January.

There has been no snowfall in most plain areas of Kashmir, while the upper spans of the valley have gotten lesser than common measure of snow. The meteorological office has conjecture principally dry weather conditions till January 21.

'Chilla-I-Kalan' will end on January 31. Nonetheless, the virus conditions will go on after that with a 20-day 'Chilla-I-Khurd' (little cold) and a 10-day 'Chilla-I-Bachha' (child cold).

Water level in Jhelum hits most reduced

The water level in Jhelum stream has stirred things up around town because of a delayed drought in Kashmir. "Jhelum was streaming at - 0.75 ft at Sangam (Anantnag dist) and - 0.86 ft at Asham (Bandipora dist) on Sunday. This is the least water level in the stream," authorities said. It had dropped to this level at Sangam in Nov 2017.