Mercury drops in Kashmir

Most parts of Kashmir Valley and Ladakh region witnessed a drop in minimum temperatures as the cold wave continued to grip the region and the weather remained dry.

Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, recorded a low of 0.9 degree Celsius as against 0.6 degree Celsius the previous night, an official of the MeT Department here said.

The minimum temperature in the city continued to settle above the freezing point for the fifth consecutive night, he said.

The mercury in Qazigund, the gateway town to Kashmir Valley, settled at minus 0.9 degree Celsius as against minus 0.4 degree Celsius the previous night.

Kokernag, in south Kashmir, recorded a low of minus 1.8 degrees Celsius compared to the previous night's minus 1.7 degrees Celsius, the official said.

The mercury in the tourist resort of Pahalgam, also in south Kashmir, settled at a low of minus 5.4 degrees Celsius, as against the previous night's low of minus 5.6 degrees Celsius, she said.

The famous ski-resort of Gulmarg registered a low of minus 10.6 degrees Celsius, a drop of over two degrees from minus 8.2 degrees Celsius the previous night.

Kupwara, in north Kashmir, recorded a low of 0.1 degree Celsius, she said.

The official said Leh, in the frontier region of Ladakh, recorded a low of minus 12.4 degrees Celsius, almost same as minus 12.3 degrees the previous night.

Kargil continued to be the coldest recorded place in the state with the mercury settling at minus 19.6 degrees Celsius last night as against the previous night's minus 19.2 degrees Celsius.

The MeT Department said there would not be any major change in the weather for the next few days and it is expected to remain mainly dry.