Kashmir Valley and Ladakh region receives fresh snowfall

Srinagar: The higher reaches of Kashmir Valley and Ladakh region received fresh snowfall on Monday even as the minimum temperature rose by several degrees bringing relief to the residents.  "Many places in the higher reaches of Kashmir and Ladakh, including Gulmarg, Pahalgam, Banihal and Drass, received fresh snowfall during the night," an official of the MeT Department here said. The plains of the Valley, including Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, received rainfall and the overcast conditions led to an increase in the minimum temperature, he said. Srinagar recorded a minimum temperature of 1.8 degrees Celsius, over one degree up from the previous night`s 0.3 degrees Celsius, the official said. The mercury in Qazigund, the gateway town to Kashmir Valley, settled at 0.8 degrees Celsius, up by over six notches from minus 5.6 degrees Celsius the previous night. The town received 3.2 mm of rainfall till 8:30 AM. The mercury in the tourist resort of Pahalgam increased by over three degrees to settle at a low of 0.2 degree Celsius as against minus 3.2 degrees Celsius the previous night, the official said, adding the resort recorded 2.4 mm rainfall. The famous ski-resort of Gulmarg recorded a low of minus 3.2 degrees Celsius, same as the previous night. The resort received six inches of snow. The mercury in Kokernag, in south Kashmir, went up by over three degrees from the previous night`s minimum of minus 3.7 degrees Celsius to settle at a low of minus 0.1 degrees Celsius last night.  Kupwara, in north Kashmir, recorded a low of 0.4 degrees Celsius and received 1 cm of snow along with 12.9 mm of rainfall during the night. Leh, in the frontier region of Ladakh, recorded a low of minus 6.4 degrees Celsius, over three degrees up from the previous night`s minus 10.0 degrees Celsius. The mercury in the nearby Kargil town jumped by almost ten degrees to settle at a low of minus 10.2 degrees Celsius as compared to minus 19.0 degrees Celsius the previous night. The MeT Department has said heavy rainfall or snowfall may occur at isolated places of Kashmir division over the next 24 hours.