Overview
- Fresh flakes at Zojila, Minamarg, Baltal and Tulail lifted many valley minimums above freezing, with Srinagar at 2°C and Pulwama still below zero at −2.7°C.
- IMD maintains a forecast of very light, isolated snowfall over higher reaches of Kashmir through December 17 and expects light snow or rain in parts of Himachal on December 17–19.
- Cold-wave alerts were issued for Telangana and interior Karnataka, with multiple Telangana districts below 10°C and Hyderabad logging a 6.3°C morning in the ongoing chill.
- Jharkhand and Odisha also reported sub‑10°C nights, including Ranchi at 6.1°C and G Udayagiri at 4.2°C, as Odisha’s cold is expected to persist and Andhra Pradesh stays cooler through December 25.
- Kashmir’s precipitation shortfall exceeds 82% since November 1, prompting water and hydropower concerns as IMD flags dense fog in northern pockets until December 17 and indicates a chance of light rain or snow around December 20–21.