Cold wave persists in Kashmir, Kargil freezes at minus 21 degC

The minimum temperature at most places in Kashmir division, including Ladakh region, dropped as cold wave tightened its grip with the mercury in Kargil plunging 21 degrees below the freezing point to register the coldest night of the season.
Kargil, in Ladakh region, recorded a low of minus 21 degrees Celsius, a degree down from yesterday's minus 20 degrees Celsius, a MeT department spokesman said here today.
He said this was the lowest temperature in Kargil this season and the town became the coldest place in Jammu and Kashmir this winter.
The spokesman said the nearby Leh town in Ladakh recorded a low of minus 13.1 degrees Celsius, one degree up from minus 14.1 degrees Celsius yesterday.

Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, recorded the minimum temperature of minus 1.9 degrees Celsius, a drop of over two degrees from 0.7 degrees Celsius the previous night, the spokesman said.
The famous ski-resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir, the star attraction for tourists especially skiers from abroad, recorded the minimum temperature of minus 8.5 degrees Celsius - up by 1.5 degrees from the previous night's minus 10.0 degrees Celsius, he said.

Pahalgam hill resort in south Kashmir, which serves as the base camp during the annual Amarnath yatra, recorded a low of minus 9.0 degrees Celsius, compared to minus 11.2 degrees Celsius, the spokesman said.

He said the mercury in Qazigund on Srinagar-Jammu national highway dropped by one degree from yesterday's minus 2.2 degrees Celsius as it settled at a low of minus 3.2 degrees Celsius.
The night temperature in Kupwara, in north Kashmir, and Kokernag resort, in south, dropped to settle at minus 2.6 degrees Celsius and minus 4.0 degrees Celsius respectively, the spokesman said.
The MeT Office has predicted mainly dry weather across Kashmir over the next 24 hours. It, however said, a fresh western disturbance would affect the state for two days from tomorrow.