Mercury in Kargil dips to season`s lowest minus 23.4 deg C

Srinagar: Mercury in Kargil town of Ladakh region continued to dip settling at the season`s lowest minus 23.4 degrees Celsius even as snowfall and rains brought some respite from the cold wave in Kashmir Valley.

"The minimum temperature in Kargil was minus 23.4 degrees Celsius last night which is the lowest of this season," an official of the MET department said. Kargil had recorded a low of minus 22.8 degrees Celsius the previous night, which was the record for this season. The nearby Leh town recorded a low of minus 11.8 degrees Celsius, an increase of nearly two degrees from previous night`s 13.7 degrees Celsius. A mix of light snowfall and rain in the wee hours at many places in Kashmir resulted in the mercury rising by more than one degree in Srinagar, the summer capital of the state. The minimum temperature settled at 0.4 degrees Celsius compared to minus 1.1 degrees Celsius the previous night. The official said the mercury in Qazigund - the gateway town to Kashmir Valley - went up by more than two degrees to settle at minus 1.0 degrees Celsius, as against the previous night`s minus 3.4 degrees Celsius. The tourist resort of Pahalgam, in south Kashmir, registered a low of minus 3.7 degrees Celsius compared to minus 10.0 degrees Celsius previous night, the official said. He said the minimum temperature in the famous ski-resort of Gulmarg settled at a low of minus 9.0 degrees Celsius as against the previous night`s minus 10.0 degrees Celsius.