Srinagar: Most parts of the Kashmir Valley experienced bright and sunny morning today though the mercury continued to hover below the freezing point during the night.
"Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, and most other places in Kashmir Valley experienced warmer day yesterday as the sky remained clear and sun was comparatively bright.
We are experiencing the same condition today and there would not be any major change in the weather for the next few days," a spokesman of the MET Department here said.
He said the city recorded a maximum temperature of 12.9 degrees Celsius yesterday, nearly seven notches above the normal.
The spokesman said the weather would remain dry and cold especially during the nights as the Valley approaches the end of the 'Chillai-Kalan' -- the 40-day harshest winter period which began on December 21.
He said Srinagar recorded the minimum temperature of minus 1.8 degrees Celsius compared to the previous night's minus 1.6. The famous ski-resort of Gulmarg, star attraction for tourists especially skiers from across the country and abroad, recorded a low of minus 7.0 degrees Celsius, against minus 7.6 degrees the previous night.
The south Kashmir hill resort of Pahalgam, which also serves as the base camp for the annual Amarnath yatra, registered a minimum temperature of minus 3.6 degrees, over a degree down from the previous night's minus 2.2 degrees Celsius, the spokesman said.
He said Qazigund, the gateway town to Kashmir Valley in south, recorded a low of minus 2.0 degrees Celsius against minus 2.2 degrees Celsius yesterday.
The spokesman said Kupwara, in north Kashmir, registered a minimum of 1.1 degrees Celsius, up by one degree from zero degrees Celsius yesterday.
