No relief from cold in Jammu and Kashmir, temperatures below freezing point

Srinagar: There was no relief from cold wave conditions in Kashmir as mercury stayed several degrees below freezing point in most parts of the valley.

Kargil town in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir saw the mercury rise by three degrees last night but settled at a bone chilling minus 17.8 degrees Celsius, an official of the Meteorological Department here said.

He said Kargil continued to be the coldest recorded place in the state.

The nearby Leh town was the second coldest as the mercury there settled at a low of minus 6.1 degrees Celsius, up by over four degrees from minus 10.5 degrees Celsius the previous night.

He said Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, recorded a minimum temperature of minus 4.9 degrees Celsius last night, up from minus 5.7 degrees Celsius the previous night.

The night temperature in Kokernag town in south Kashmir settled at minus 1.3 degrees Celsius last night, the official said.

He said Kupwara in north Kashmir recorded a low of minus 5.1 degrees Celsius, slightly down from the previous night's minus 4.7 degrees Celsius.

The official said the night temperature in Pahalgam - the famous health resort which also serves as one of the base camps for the annual Amarnath Yatra -- settled at a low of minus 5.2 degrees Celsius compared to minus 5.8 degrees Celsius the previous night.

Kashmir has been going through extremely dry and cold weather conditions this winter, leading to health-related problems among children and the elderly.

Kashmir is currently under the grip of Chillai-Kalan, a 40-day harshest period of winter when the chances of snowfall are most frequent and maximum and the temperature drops considerably.

It ends on January 31, but the cold wave continues even after that in the valley. The 40-day period is followed by a 20-day-long Chillai-Khurd (small cold) and a 10-day-long Chillai-Bachha (baby cold).