Quoting a meteorological department official, news agency GNS reported that mercury in the summer capital was down from previous night’s minus 3.8°C by minus 2.2°C and overall it was below minus 4.5°C than the normal for this time of the year.
Barring last year, it is for the first time in last decade that mercury has plunged to minus 6.0°C or more before the onset of the Chillai-e-Kalan, the 40-day long chilliest part of the season, starting on December 21. In last ten years, it has been four occasions when the mercury fell to minus 6.0°C or above in Srinagar.
