Srinagar: Cold conditions returned to haunt the residents of Leh town of Ladakh region as the mercury there plunged nearly nine degrees, even as the night temperature dropped at most places in Kashmir.
Leh recorded a low of minus 11.3 degrees Celsius - down by nearly nine notches from previous night's low of minus 2.8 degrees Celsius, an official of the Meteorological Department here said.
He said Leh was the coldest recorded place in Jammu and Kashmir.
The nearby Kargil town was the second coldest recorded place in the state as it recorded a low of minus 9.6 degrees Celsius compared to minus 8. 6 degrees Celsius the previous night, the official said.
He said the mercury also went down across the Valley except at Gulmarg and Kupwara, both in north Kashmir, where it improved slightly.
The famous ski-resort of Gulmarg, the star attraction for tourists visiting the Valley during winter, registered the minimum of minus 5.2 degrees Celsius against the previous night's minus 6 degrees Celsius, the official said.
Kupwara town, which had witnessed a low of minus 2.4 degrees Celsius the previous night, recorded the low of minus 1.8 degrees Celsius, the official said.
Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir registered a low of minus 0.9 degree Celsius down from the previous night's minus 0.1 degree Celsius, the official said.
The night temperature at Pahalgam, which serves as the base camp for the annual Amarnath yatra during summer, settled at a low of minus 4.3 degrees Celsius against the minimum of minus 4 degrees Celsius the previous night.
The official said Qazigund and Kokernag towns, also in south Kashmir, recorded a drop of around a degree in the night temperature.
While Qazigund recorded the minimum of 1.2 degrees Celsius, the mercury in Kokernag settled at a low of 0.6 degree Celsius, the official said.
The Meteorological Department has forecast mainly dry weather in the state today.
There are chances of another spell of wet weather later this week, the official said.
