Cold intensifies in J&K, dry weather to prevail for a week

Cold conditions intensified in Jammu and Kashmir as the minimum temperatures dipped further across the state on Monday even as the meteorological office forecast a dry weather for the coming week.

A chilly and cloudy weather was recorded in Srinagar while a hazy morning in Jammu for the second consecutive day on Monday reduced visibility.

The minimum in Srinagar settled at zero degree Celsius, a drop of nearly three degrees over the previous night.

"It will be a partly cloudy sky in Srinagar which will become partly sunny towards the afternoon," an official of the weather office told IANS.

The tourist destinations of Gulmarg recorded a minimum overnight temperature of minus 7.2 degrees on Monday compared with Sunday's low of minus 6.0 degrees.

In Pahalgam, the mercury dropped more than three degrees over the previous night and settled at minus 5.5 degrees on Monday.

Leh in Ladakh region was the coldest in the state at minus 13.5 degrees, while nearby Kargil town remained frozen at minus 13.4 degrees.

"The minimum overnight temperature in Jammu was 7.9 degrees today (Monday) against yesterday's minimum of 9.1 degrees," the weather official said.

In Jammu region, the minimum temperature was 3.4 degrees in Banihal, 2.7 degrees in Batote, minus 0.1 degrees in Bhaderwah, 5.1 degrees in Udhampur, 8.4 degrees in Kathua and 7.5 degrees in Katra, the official added.

The maximum day temperature in Srinagar and Jammu was likely to hover around 9 and 19 degrees Celsius respectively.