Dry spell to continue till month end, predicts MeT
Srinagar, Feb 21: An all-time temperature record for February was shattered in Srinagar on Saturday, with the maximum temperature soaring to 21.0°C, independent weatherman Faizan Keng told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO).
He said, “The reading is now officially the highest ever recorded in the month of February in Srinagar. The previous all-time February record stood at 20.6°C, which was observed on February 24, 2016.”
He said that what makes the development even more remarkable is the magnitude of the anomaly. “Today’s temperature was a massive +10.0°C above normal, which is an extraordinary deviation for late winter in the Valley,” he said.
Keng said, “This is not an isolated spike but part of a broader, intensifying warm spell. With dry conditions likely to persist and no significant Western Disturbance in sight, maximum temperatures are expected to climb even further in the coming days.”
Keng said that long-standing records may fall before the month concludes for other parts of Kashmir as well. “February 2026 is now firmly on track to rank among the warmest — if not the warmest,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Meteorological Department said there is no forecast of any major rain or snowfall activity across Jammu and Kashmir till the end of February, with dry weather likely to prevail over most parts of the Union Territory.
The MeT office, as per KNO said that weather is expected to remain generally dry from February 21 to 25. On February 26, conditions are likely to be partly to generally cloudy, while on February 27 and 28, the weather will remain partly to generally cloudy with chances of light rain or snow at isolated places.
“The outlook for the first week of March indicates generally cloudy weather from March 1 to 3, with light rain or snow over higher reaches at isolated to scattered places. From March 4 to 7, the weather is expected to remain partly cloudy,” the MeT said.
The department said maximum day temperatures have remained 9-10 Degrees Celsius above normal in many parts of Kashmir division and 4-9 degrees above normal in several areas of Jammu division during the past 24 hours.
Qazigund recorded maximum temperature of 21.0 degrees against 10.1 degrees normal.
Pahalgam recorded a high of 16.5 degrees compared to the normal of 7.5 degrees, and Kupwara settled at 19.8 degrees against 10.1 degrees normal. Gulmarg recorded a maximum of 11.6 degrees Celsius, about 9.6 degrees above normal.
In the Jammu division, Jammu city recorded a maximum of 26.2 degrees Celsius against the normal of 22.3 degrees. Kathua registered 26.0 degrees against 22.5 degrees normal, while Bhaderwah recorded 19.0 degrees compared to 14.2 degrees normal.
Night temperatures have also remained above normal at most places. Srinagar recorded a minimum of 1.8 degrees Celsius against the normal of 1.5 degrees, while Pahalgam registered minus 2.0 degrees. Jammu city recorded a minimum of 12.1 degrees Celsius against the normal of 11.1 degrees.
The MeT office has advised farmers to continue farm operations and said a further rise in both minimum and maximum temperatures is likely during the next six days. No major weather warning has been issued for the coming week. (KNO)
