Rain brings respite from J&K cold wave

Rain in the the plains and snowfall in the mountains on Monday broke the cold spell in Jammu and Kashmir as night temperatures showed improvement, the Met Office said.

For the first time since the 40-day long spell of 'Chillai Kalan' which started on December 21, the minimum temperature on Monday rose above the freezing point in Srinagar, an official of the local Met department said here.

It was 2.2 degrees Celsius in Srinagar, minus 0.4 degrees Celsius in Pahalgam and minus 5.6 degrees Celsius in Gulmarg, an official of the local MET department said here.

"In Ladakh region, Leh town recorded minus 7.8 degrees Celsius while Kargil town recorded minus 9.0 degrees Celsius as the day's minimum," the official said.

In Jammu region, the minimum temperature was 9.0 degrees Celsius in Jammu city, 11.6 degrees Celsius in Mata Vaishno Devi base camp town of Katra, 6.8 degrees Celsius in Batote, 5.6 degrees Celsius in Bannihal, 5.0 degrees Celsius in Bhaderwah and 8.1 degrees Celsius in Udhampur town.

The official said light rain in the plains and snowfall in the higher reaches would occur in Jammu and Kashmir during the next 24 hours.