Cold weather conditions continued to prevail in Kashmir Valley and Ladakh region, though there was a slight respite from the severe cold in Srinagar and Gulmarg, even as Leh recorded the coldest night of the season so far.
Leh, in the frontier Ladakh region, recorded a minimum temperature of minus 17.0 degrees Celsius, a further drop from the previous night's minus 16.4 degrees Celsius, a MET Department spokesman said. He said Leh registered the lowest minimum temperature of the season so far and was the coldest recorded place in Jammu and Kashmir.
Kargil recorded a low of minus 15.2 degrees Celsius, compared to minus 14.5 degrees Celsius the previous night and was the second coldest place in the state, the spokesman said. The minimum temperature in Srinagar, the summer capital of the state, appreciated a little to settle at minus 4.7 degrees Celsius. The city had witnessed the coldest night of this winter so far with mercury plunging to minus 5.6 degrees Celsius the previous night.
The severe cold has led to the freezing of parts of many water bodies including the famous Dal Lake located in the heart of the city. Drinking water taps were also frozen at some places while early morning motorists faced difficulties due to a thin layer of frost on the roads.
The spokesman said Qazigund, the gateway town to Kashmir Valley in south Kashmir, recorded a low of minus 6.4 degrees Celsius - also the lowest so far - against the previous night minus 5.9 degrees Celsius. He said the mercury in Pahalgam tourist resort in south, which serves as a base camp during the annual Amarnath yatra, also decreased slightly to settle at a minimum of minus 7.6 degrees Celsius.
However, the ski-resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir saw the minimum temperature increasing by a degree to minus 3.7 degrees Celsius, the spokesman said. Kupwara town in north Kashmir settled at the season's low of minus 5.9 degrees Celsius, while Kokernag in south registered a minimum of minus 4.0 degrees Celsius – a drop of almost two degrees from the previous night, he said.
The weatherman has predicted cold and dry weather for next few days.
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