A sweltering heatwave has turned Srinagar hotter than Calcutta and Mumbai.

Srinagar city on Wednesday recorded a temperature of 35.6°C, the highest in 25 years since 1999, closely followed by Kupwara and Bandipora districts where the mercury touched 34.5°C, officials said.

Calcutta and Mumbai on Wednesday registered a maximum temperature of 29.2°C and 32.7°C, respectively.

Kashmir has been in the grip of a heatwave for the past several days, with Srinagar city and some other places bearing the brunt.

However, a forecast of light to moderate rain on Friday is offering some respite.

Sonam Lotus, a meteorologist at the India Meteorological Department, shared a chart that showed that the all-time high temperature in Srinagar was 39.5°C on
July 15, 1973.

Lotus said Kashmir had been in the grip of a heatwave since last month.

Officials said the maximum temperature recorded on Tuesday was several degrees above normal, with Kupwara, the border town, and Qazigund, the gateway to Kashmir, also sizzling at 34°C.

Pahalgam was relatively cool at 29.1°C.

Lotus said the monsoon rains in Kashmir, along with Jammu and Ladakh, were expected to bring some respite for three days beginning Friday. He, however, said Kashmir would again be in the grip of a heatwave after that.

The scorching heat, by Kashmir standards, has led to water shortage in many areas. Children and teenagers are swarming streams and lakes for a breather from the hot weather.

The school education department has already announced a 10-day summer vacation for schools in the Valley from July 8.

Manzoor Pakhtoon, chairman of the Kashmir Houseboat Owners Association, said the heatwave has had no impact on Kashmir tourism though it was facing a downslide because of the ongoing Amarnath yatra.

“We had a good tourist season until the end of June. The numbers have fallen (since the yatra began). There are restrictions (for security reasons) on free movement of yatris and other tourists because of which the numbers have fallen,” he said.

The 52-day yatra began on June 29 and around 74,000 pilgrims visited the Amarnath shrine in the last four days.

Yatris are required to move in security convoys and they largely stay in government accommodations because of which, according to local tourism players, they contribute little to the local economy.

Kashmir has witnessed an unprecedented surge in tourism this year, with over 15 lakh tourists visiting the Valley till the end of June. Officials put the number at 21 lakh last year.