Cold wave grips Kashmir, Leh coldest at minus 13 degree Celsius

Leh in frontier region of Ladakh slipped to a bone-chilling minus 13 degree Celsius even as the night temperature continued its free fall below the freezing point across Kashmir division.

Kargil, also in the cold desert of Ladakh, was the second coldest recorded place with a low of minus 12.8 degrees, the Meteorological department said on Wednesday.

While Leh recorded a dip of three degrees in the minimum temperature, Kargil was down by nearly two degrees compared to previous night, a spokesman of the department said. Likewise, the night temperature also slipped further in rest of the Kashmir division, including summer capital Srinagar where the mercury settled at minus 4.0 degrees.

The famous hill resort of Pahalgam in south Kashmir, which serves as a base camp during the annual Amarnath yatra, was the coldest recorded place in the valley with temperature at minus 6.8 degree Celsius, down by 1.2 degree compared to the previous night.

Gulmarg, the famous ski resort in north Kashmir and the star attraction for tourists in the Valley during winters, recorded a minimum of minus 3.0 degree Celsius. North Kashmir's Kupwara town, 90 kms from here, recorded a low of minus 4.9 degrees Celsius as against yesterday's minus 4.4 degrees. Qazigund, the gateway town to Kashmir on Srinagar-Jammu national highway and Kokernag hill resort in south Kashmir recorded a minimum of minus 3.0 and minus 3.6 degree Celsius, respectively, the spokesman said.