Image: AI-Skymet
The mountains of North India are witnessing dry and cold conditions for the last one week. An active Western Disturbance had earlier covered the peaks with a thick layer of snow on 04th November. There was fairly widespread rainfall in the lower and mid reaches during that period. The short and swift spell had set the stage for freezing conditions, a little earlier than the schedule. Consequently, the plains of North India also captured a glimpse of wintry weather, once again slightly before the normal dates.
There are no signs of any fresh weather system to spray another layer of snow and intensify the cold. Yet, courtesy of the previous spell, the Kashmir Valley has plunged under freeze conditions much earlier than expected. Gulmarg and Pahalgam, more elevated than Srinagar, froze in the first week of November. Sub-zero temperature was recorded on 05th Nov 2025 for the first time in the season. Srinagar followed with a minimum of –0.1°C, the first sub-zero of the season for the capital city on 10th Nov. The mercury has plummeted further, and the lowest temperature of the season so far was recorded this morning. Srinagar measured a low of –2.3°C, and Pahalgam nearly doubled this figure with a minimum of –3.8°C.
As it normally happens, the freezing temperatures travel to the popular resorts of Himachal Pradesh with a lag of about two weeks, and sometimes even more than this timeframe. Over the last four years, Manali did not record a freezing temperature of zero degree or less in the month of November. Even Shimla also waited till December to record sub-zero mercury for the first time in the season. Shimla has recorded the lowest temperature of 2.7°C on 30 Nov 2007 in the last 15 years. Both Manali and Shimla will continue to wait in the wings for sub-zero temperature until an active Western Disturbance covers the peaks with a blanket of fresh snow. No such situation is developing over the next two weeks or so. However, dry and chilly conditions will persist across the hilly states, amounting to bitter cold sweep on a few occasions during this period.
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