No respite from cold in Jammu and Kashmir

There was no respite from cold and chilly weather conditions in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday as the minimum temperature continued to fall further in most places in the state.

Leh town in Ladakh region was the coldest in the state on Friday. It recorded the season's lowest temperature so far at minus 16.2 degrees Celsius, a further drop of over 3 degrees from Thursday's minus 12.9 degrees.

Kargil town in the same region remained at minus 15 degrees.

Continued dry weather spell has increased the chill in Kashmir, where minimum temperatures dipped several degrees below the freezing point, mainly due to a clear night sky.

The local meteorological office forecast dry weather in the state on Friday.

"Weather will remain mainly dry in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday, with chances of isolated to scattered rain in the next two days," an official of the weather office told IANS here.

The official said Srinagar recorded a minimum of minus 5.2 degrees whereas the maximum was likely to hover around 7.1 degrees on Friday.

The minimum temperatures in the tourist destinations of Gulmarg and Pahalgam were minus 10.2 degrees and minus 8 degrees respectively.

The minimum in Qazigund town along the Srinagar-Jammu national highway was minus 3.8 degrees, the weather official said.

The overnight minimum in Jammu city was 3.4 degrees whereas the maximum was likely to hover around 17.5 degrees on Friday.

In Jammu region, the minimum temperature was 4.5 degrees in Katra town, 2.7 degrees in Banihal, 0.6 degrees in Batote, 0.5 degrees in Udhampur, 2.1 degrees in Bhaderwah town and 3.4 degrees in Kathua, the meteorological office said.