Srinagar experiences coldest night of season

Srinagar: Cold wave tightened its grip over Kashmir as several places, including Srinagar, experienced the coldest night this season, with the minimum temperature settling below the freezing point across the Valley for the first time this winter.

The night temperature across Kashmir division, including Ladakh region, settled below the freezing point, an official of the Meteorological Department here said.

Srinagar recorded a minimum temperature of minus 1.7 degrees Celsius down two degrees from the previous night's 0.3 degree Celsius.

This is the season's lowest night temperature recorded in the city so far, the official said.

Leh in Ladakh region was the coldest recorded places in the state as it registered a low of minus 10.2 degrees Celsius last night - a decrease of over three degrees from minus 6.7 degrees Celsius the previous night.

The official said Leh also experienced the coldest night of the season so far.

The mercury in nearby Kargil settled at minus 6.6 degrees Celsius, a slight decrease from the previous night's minus 6.2 degrees Celsius, he said, adding it was the lowest night temperature of the season so far in the town.

The official said Qazigund, Kokernag, Pahalgam and Kupwara also experienced the coldest night of the season.

While the mercury settled at minus 0.8 degree Celsius in Qazigund town in south Kashmir, which was over three degrees down from the previous night's 2.4 degrees Celsius, the minimum in nearby Kokernag was minus 0.1 degree Celsius, the official said.

He said Pahalgam, which serves as one of the base camps for the annual Amarnath Yatra, recorded a minimum of minus 2.7 degrees Celsius, while Kupwara, in north Kashmir, registered a low of minus 2.9 degrees Celsius.

The official said Gulmarg, the famous ski-resort in north Kashmir, recorded a low of minus 5.6 degrees Celsius, compared to minus 6.2 degrees Celsius the previous night.

The resort was the only place in Kashmir division which witnessed an increase in the night temperature last night.

The Meteorological Department has forecast mainly dry weather in the Valley over the next few days.