Some respite from cold wave expected in Kashmir

At minus 12.4 degrees Celsius, Pahalgam hill station was the coldest town in Kashmir Sunday. The present cold wave conditions would ease a bit during the next 24 hours, the Met Office has forecast.

The minimum temperature was 12.4 degrees Celsius below the freezing point in Pahalgam Sunday - coldest in the Kashmir Valley. It was 4.2 degrees Celsius below zero in Srinagar and minus 9.8 degrees Celsius in Gulmarg, a weather official said.

Leh town recorded a minimum of minus 8.6 degrees Celsius and Kargil recorded minus 16.1 degrees, he said.

The minimum temperature in Jammu city was 5.6 degrees Sunday - two degrees below what is normal for this time of the season, the official said.

There would be a marginal rise in the night temperatures across the Kashmir Valley, which would bring some respite to the people from the present intense cold wave conditions, he added.

The Met Office had forecast snow and rainfall in the valley Jan 8 and 9.