Anantnag features a moderate climate (
Köppen climate classification). Anantnag's climate is largely defined by its geographic location, with the towering
Karakoram to its east and the Pirpanjal range to the south. It can be generally described as cool in the spring and autumn, mild in the summer, and cold in the winter. As a large city with significant differences in Geolocation among various districts, the
weather is often cooler in the hilly areas of the east as compared to the flat northern part of Anantnag. Summer is usually mild and with a little rain, but
relative humidity is generally high and the nights are cool. The
precipitation occurs throughout the year but no one month is particularly dry. The hottest month is July (mean minimum temperature 6 °C, mean maximum temperature 32 °C) and the coldest are December–January (mean minimum temperature −15 °C, mean maximum temperature 0 °C). Weather conditions are unpredictable. The record high temperature is 33 °C and the record low is −18 °C. On 5–6 January 2012, after years of relatively little snow, a
wave of heavy snow and low temperatures shocked the city covering it in a thick layer of snow and ice, forcing them to officially declare a
state of emergency and calling the following two days (6 and 7 January) off for the whole valley. Anantnag has seen an increase in relative humidity and annual precipitation in the last few years. This is most likely because of the commercial afforestation projects which also includes expanding parks and green cover. The suburb parts of Anantnag are lusher than the central part. Anantnag District possesses all the typical characteristics of the climate of Kashmir Valley as a whole. "In his introduction to the
Rajtarangini Kulan or
Kalhána, Pandit says about the climate of Valley: 'It is a country where the sun shines mildly, being the place created by Kashayapa as if for his glory. High school-houses, the saffron, iced water and grapes, which are rare even in heaven, are common here. Kailasa is the best place in the three worlds, Himalaya the best part of Kailásá, and Kashmir the best place in Himalaya.'" }} ==Politics==