In the heart of Kashmir's most severe cold season, the mountains are whispering a different story than the one written in centuries of winter memory. Gulmarg and Pahalgam have dipped below freezing, yet their temperatures hover three to six degrees above what this ancient cold period demands — a quiet but consequential departure from the rhythms that have long shaped life, water, and harvest across the valley. The Meteorological Department watches closely as incoming rain and snow approach, carrying with them the question of whether winter will yet remember itself.
Kashmir's Unusually Warm Winter Persists as Gulmarg, Pahalgam Dip Below Freezing
A winter running three to four degrees too warm
Mark
So Gulmarg hit minus 1.6—that sounds genuinely cold. Why is the story that it's warm?
Mimi
Because it should be minus 8 or colder right now. We're in Chilla-e-Kalan, the harshest 40 days of the year. The fact that the coldest place in the valley is still nearly six degrees warmer than normal is the anomaly.
Luke
Do we know why? Is this a one-year thing or part of a longer pattern?
Mimi
The reporting doesn't say. The Met Department confirmed the departure from normal, but there's no explanation offered for the cause.
Mark
What does this actually mean for people living there?
Mimi
Unclear from this report. But a warm winter changes water availability, affects crops, and can shift disease patterns. It's not trivial.
Luke
The forecast says rain or snow starting Tuesday. Do we know if that will be enough to bring temperatures back to normal?
Mimi
No. The reporting just notes the forecast and the overcast skies. Whether this system resets the winter or is just a temporary dip isn't addressed.
Mark
So we're watching a pattern that's unusual, but we don't yet know if it's a blip or something bigger?
Mimi
Exactly. The story is that something is off. What it means is still being written.
O Pulso
- Kashmir is in the grip of Chilla-e-Kalan — its most feared 40-day cold stretch — yet nights feel almost mild, with temperatures running 3 to 4 degrees above seasonal norms across the entire valley.
- Gulmarg, which should be nearly six degrees colder, and Srinagar, running 3.6 degrees warmer than expected, signal that this is not a local quirk but a valley-wide anomaly.
- The warmth is not merely uncomfortable news for ski resorts — it threatens snowpack accumulation at high elevations, with downstream consequences for spring water supply and the agricultural year ahead.
- Rain and snowfall forecast from Tuesday have already begun darkening skies over the region, offering the first real chance to interrupt the warming pattern.
- Whether a single weather system can reset a winter that has run consistently warm for weeks remains the open and urgent question meteorologists are tracking.
In the heart of Kashmir's most severe cold season, the mountains are whispering a different story than the one written in centuries of winter memory. Gulmarg and Pahalgam have dipped below freezing, yet their temperatures hover three to six degrees above what this ancient cold period demands — a quiet but consequential departure from the rhythms that have long shaped life, water, and harvest across the valley. The Meteorological Department watches closely as incoming rain and snow approach, carrying with them the question of whether winter will yet remember itself.
Kashmir's high-altitude stations fell below freezing Monday night, but the numbers carry a quiet alarm. Gulmarg bottomed out at minus 1.6°C and Pahalgam at minus 1.2°C — readings that sound harsh until measured against what is normal: Gulmarg should be nearly six degrees colder, Pahalgam five degrees lower. The Meteorological Department confirmed what residents have sensed for weeks — the valley is running three to four degrees above seasonal average, a pattern that holds from the southern gateway town of Qazigund all the way to Srinagar, where the minimum temperature of 1.0°C sits 3.6 degrees warmer than it should.
This warmth is unfolding during Chilla-e-Kalan, the 40-day period of extreme cold stretching from late December through early February, when nights ordinarily plunge between three and eight degrees below freezing. What should be a season of heavy snow and bitter cold has instead brought relative mildness — a departure meteorologists are watching with concern.
The stakes reach beyond daily comfort. Kashmir's winter snowfall feeds the water systems and shapes the agricultural calendar for the year ahead. Reduced snowpack at higher elevations means less spring runoff and tighter summer water availability. A forecast for rain and snow beginning Tuesday has already sent overcast skies across the valley, raising cautious hope that the season may yet correct its course — though whether one weather system can undo weeks of anomalous warmth remains to be seen.
Kashmir's high-altitude stations dipped below freezing on Monday night, but the numbers tell a story of a winter running warm. Gulmarg, the valley's coldest point, bottomed out at minus 1.6 degrees Celsius. Pahalgam, in the south, fell to minus 1.2 degrees. Both readings sound severe until you learn what normal looks like: Gulmarg should be nearly six degrees colder this time of year, and Pahalgam should be five degrees lower. The Meteorological Department confirmed what residents have been noticing for weeks—Kashmir is experiencing an unusually warm winter, with temperatures running three to four degrees above seasonal average across the entire valley.
This anomaly is playing out during Chilla-e-Kalan, a 40-day period of extreme cold that typically grips the region from late December through early February. During these weeks, night temperatures ordinarily plunge between three and eight degrees below freezing. The current pattern breaks that expectation sharply. In Srinagar itself, the minimum temperature settled at 1.0 degree Celsius—3.6 degrees warmer than it should be. Qazigund, the gateway town marking the valley's southern entrance, recorded 1.4 degrees Celsius, running 4.1 degrees above normal.
The warmth has persisted despite the calendar's turn into the coldest season. What would normally be a time of heavy snow and bitter nights has instead brought relatively mild conditions, a departure that meteorologists are tracking closely. The department has now issued a forecast that may interrupt the pattern: rain or snowfall is expected to begin Tuesday across the valley. By Tuesday morning, overcast skies had already moved in across the region, signaling the approach of the weather system.
The significance of this warming extends beyond comfort. Kashmir's winter precipitation—snow and rain during Chilla-e-Kalan—feeds the region's water systems and shapes the agricultural calendar for the year ahead. A warm winter can alter snowpack accumulation in the higher elevations, which in turn affects spring runoff and summer water availability. The incoming precipitation may begin to push temperatures back toward their seasonal norms, though whether it will be enough to reset the winter's overall trajectory remains to be seen.
Citações Notáveis
The mercury has remained three to four degrees above the season's average across the valley— Meteorological Department officials
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