Intense cold wave grips J&K, Ladakh; several places record season’s lowest temperatures

09/01/2026

Srinagar, Jan 8: An intense cold wave gripped Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, as several places across the two union territories recording lowest temperature of the season.
In the Kashmir Valley, popular tourist destinations and higher reaches remained the coldest.
Sonamarg registered the lowest temperature in Kashmir at -9.8°C, followed closely by Gulmarg at -9.2°C and Pahalgam at -8.6°C. Shopian also shivered at -7.8°C.
The summer capital Srinagar settled at -5.1°C, sharply down from -1.6°C the preceding night, marking a significant drop, the meteorological department said.
In the Jammu region, the plains also experienced a noticeable drop in temperatures, though most stations stayed above the freezing mark. The winter capital, Jammu, recorded a minimum of 7.1°C. The cold was sharper in hilly districts, with Bhaderwah recording -3.4°C and Rajouri -1.0°C last night.
The most extreme cold was reported from the union territory of Ladakh, where the mercury plunged to severe levels. Drass, one of the coldest inhabited places in the world, recorded -24.7°C. Hanle -16.9°C, Padum -17.2°C, Leh -14.6°C, Kargil -13.4°C and Nubra Valley also remained in a deep freeze.
There is no immediate respite from the ongoing cold wave across the region. According to the forecast, minimum temperatures are likely to fall further until January 10, which may result in more intense cold conditions during the night and early morning hours. After January 10, a gradual improvement is expected, with night temperatures likely to increase by about 1-2°C.
Meanwhile, Kashmir is expected to witness largely dry weather conditions over the next two weeks, with only brief spells of light rain or snow at isolated places, according to the forecast.
Up to January 15, the weather is likely to remain partly cloudy across most parts of the Valley. This will be followed by a brief change, as January 16-17 are expected to be generally cloudy with light rain or snow at isolated places in the Kashmir division.
Conditions are likely to turn partly to generally cloudy on January 18-19 before another weak western disturbance may affect higher reaches on January 20, bringing light snowfall at isolated higher reaches of the Kashmir division. The weather is expected to become partly cloudy again from January 21-22.
According to the meteorological department overall, no significant weather activity is expected till January 22.

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