Jammu records season’s coldest day

  Jammu: Residents of Jammu woke up to a chilly Tuesday morning as the mercury plunged to 4.1 degrees Celsius – the season's lowest so far. Earlier on December 17, the city of temples had recorded a low of 4.4 degrees Celsius. The upward trend in the mercury marked a dip on Monday when the night temperature settled at 5.3 degrees Celsius, down from the previous night's 6.7 degrees Celsius, a Meteorological department (Met) spokesperson said. 

The night temperature is on a decline across the Jammu region, with the minimum temperature in Banihal and Batote, along the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, and Bhaderwah, in Doda district, slipping to sub-zero levels, he said. Banihal, the gateway to Kashmir, was the coldest recorded place in the region with a low of minus 3.3 degrees Celsius, followed by Bhaderwah at minus 2.2 degrees Celsius and Batote at minus 2 degrees Celsius, the spokesman said. He said Katra, the base camp for pilgrims visiting the famous cave shrine of Vaishno Devi in Reasi district, recorded a low of 5 degrees Celsius, down from 6 degrees Celsius the previous night.

Cold wave intensifies in HP 
Shimla: The cole wave tightened its grip on Himachal Pradesh on Christmas, with the mercury plunging to minus 9.4 degrees Celsius in Keylong and popular tourist destination Manali reeling at minus 3.2 degrees Celsius from 5.30 pm on Monday to 8.30 am Tuesday.

Kalpa, Solan, Bhuntar, Sundernagar and Seobagh also witnessed sub-zero temperatures during the period, Meteorological Centre, Shimla, Director Manmohan Singh said. Keylong, administrative centre of the tribal Lahaul and Spiti district, was the coldest place in the state, he said. 

The minimum temperature in Kalpa was recorded at minus 4.6 degrees Celsius, Seobagh at minus 1.7 degrees Celsius, Bhuntar at minus 1 degree Celsius, Sundernagar at minus 0.7 degree Celsius and Solan at minus 0.4 degree Celsius, Singh added. The minimum temperature in state capital Shimla was 1.7 degrees Celsius during the period. Similarly, the minimum in Kufri remained at 0.8 degree Celsius and in Dalhousie, at 1.1 degrees Celsius, he said.