Srinagar: The cold wave tightened its grip on Kashmir Valley and Ladakh region as mercury plummeted in most places by several notches and Kargil recorded the season`s lowest temperature for the second consecutive night.
"Kargil was the coldest recorded place in Jammu and Kashmir as the mercury settled at a low of minus 20.4 degrees Celsius, which is the lowest for this winter so far," an official of the MeT department said.
He said the town in the frontier region of Ladakh had recorded a low of minus 20 degrees Celsius.
The minimum temperature in Srinagar, the summer capital of the state, went below the freezing point for the first time in the past week as the mercury settled at minus 2.3 degrees Celsius, more than two notches down from the previous night`s 0.3 degrees Celsius.
Qazigund, the gateway town to Kashmir Valley, recorded a low of minus 7.0 degrees Celsius, down by over five notches from minus 1.6 degrees Celsius the previous night.
The mercury in Kokernag, in south Kashmir, also dipped by over five notches to record a low of minus 9.3 degrees Celsius as against the previous night`s minus 4.1 degrees Celsius, the official said.
The tourist resort of Pahalgam recorded a minimum of minus 12.3 degrees Celsius compared to minus 10.4 degrees Celsius the previous night, while the famous ski-resort of Gulmarg registered a low of minus 11.2 degrees Celsius, compared to minus 11.0 degrees Celsius the previous night.
Kupwara, in north Kashmir, recorded a low of minus 2.1 degree Celsius, down by over two notches from the previous night`s 0.1 degree Celsius.
The official said Leh, in the frontier region of Ladakh, recorded a low of minus 12.0 degrees Celsius, against minus 13.0 degrees the previous night.
The MeT Department said there is a possibility of scattered to widespread rain or snow on the weekend.
