Gulmarg coldest place in J&K with minus 4.2 deg C

Srinagar: Gulmarg was the coldest place in Jammu and Kashmir with the mercury plummeting below the freezing point to settle at a low of minus 4.2 degrees Celsius.

The famous ski-resort of Gulmarg was the coldest recorded place in the state, with the mercury further plummeting below the freezing point to settle at a low of minus 4.2 degrees Celsius, a MeT Department official said. Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, recorded a drop of two notches in the night temperature, as the cold wave conditions have set in earlier than expected this year. The minimum temperature recorded in Srinagar today was 2.8 degrees Celsius, as compared to yesterday`s 4.8 degrees Celsius, he said. The south Kashmir tourist resort of Pahalgam also saw a drop in temperature from the previous night`s 1.8 degrees Celsius, to settle slightly above the freezing point at 0.8 degrees Celsius, the official said. He said other places in the Valley also recorded drop in temperatures but the minimum settled above the freezing point. The minimum night temperature recorded in Leh, in Ladakh region, was minus 2.4 deg C, a drop of over a degree from the previous low of minus 1.1 degrees Celsius, he said. The neighbouring Kargil town registered the night temperature at minus 1.4 degrees Celsius, more than three degrees up from yesterday?s minus 5.2 degrees Celsius, the official said. Gulmarg and other high altitude areas in the Valley received the season`s first snowfall on Wednesday night, which continued intermittently on Thursday as well. The MeT Department has said that even though the mornings and evenings would be cold, the weather would remain dry and pleasant till November 5.