Leh freezes as mercury plunges to minus 12.1 deg

Srinagar: The town of Leh in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir experienced the coldest night of the season so far as the mercury plunged 12 degrees below freezing point even as minimum temperatures at most places in the Valley increased slightly.

Leh recorded a minimum of minus 12.1 degrees Celsius -- down by over seven degrees from the previous night's minus 4.6 degrees, a MeT department official said.

He said this was the coldest night of the season in the town this winter. On December 2, the town had registered a low of minus 9.9 degrees. Leh was also the coldest recorded place in Jammu and Kashmir.

In Kashmir Valley, Srinagar - the summer capital - was the only place where the night temperature decreased. The city recorded a low of minus 0.8 degrees as against 0.6 degrees the previous night.

The mercury at Qazigund - the gateway town to Kashmir Valley - increased from the previous night's low of minus 0.6 degrees to settle above the freezing point at 0.8 degrees, the official said.

The famous ski-resort of Gulmarg, in north Kashmir, registered a minimum of minus 9.2 degrees, an increase of over a degree from the previous night's minus 10.6 degrees. The previous night was the coldest of the season so far at the resort.

The mercury in the other famous tourist resort of Pahalgam - which serves as a base camp for the annual Amarnath Yatra in south Kashmir - went up by over two degrees from the previous night's minus 6.5 degrees to settle at a low of minus 4.3 degrees, the official said.

The night temperatures also increased in the Kupwara and Kokernag towns, where the minimum settled at minus 2.5 degrees and minus 0.1 degrees, respectively.

The official said there were traces of snowfall in some areas in the higher reaches. The MeT Office has forecast mainly dry weather over the next few days.