Srinagar: Residents of the Kashmir Valley
got a slight respite from the intense cold wave today but the
minimum temperatures across the region remained several
degrees below the freezing point with Leh recording minus 16
degrees.
The summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, Srinagar,
recorded a minimum temperature of minus 3.4 degrees Celsius,
an increase of 1.3 degrees from yesterday, a MeT official
said.
The city witnessed the season`s coldest night earlier
this week when mercury dipped to a low of minus 4.9 degrees
Celsius.
Small stagnant water bodies and water-filled road
potholes in the city were covered with a layer of ice.
The remote Leh district of Ladakh region witnessed a
decrease of 1.6 degrees in the minimum temperature which
settled at minus 16.0 degrees Celsius, the official said.
Kargil district, also in mountainous Ladakh region,
recorded a low of minus 15.0 deg C, a decrease of 2.2 degrees
compared to yesterday, he said.
The skiing resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir recorded
the minimum temperature at minus 8.2 degrees Celsius, he said.
There has been a drastic drop in temperatures since
`Chillai Kalan`, a forty-day period of extreme cold weather
that began last week.
The tourist resort of Pahalgam in south Kashmir recorded
a minus 7.0 deg C, a increase of 0.6 degrees compared to
yesterday.
The gateway town of Qazigund in south Kashmir also
recorded a low of minus 5.2 deg C while Kupwara district in
north Kashmir recorded a minimum of minus 3.5 deg C.
PTI
