Ladakh gets slight respite from intense cold

Night temperatures dropped across the Kashmir Valley even as there was some respite from the intense cold in Ladakh region of the state where the mercury marked a slight increase.
An official of the Meteorological Department here said. that Leh town recorded a low of minus 7.3 degrees Celsius, over a degree up from minus 8.5 degrees Celsius yesterday.
The official said the nearby Kargil town, which had experienced the coldest night of the winter so far yesterday at minus 10.4 degrees Celsius, recorded a low of minus 6.4 degrees Celsius last night, an increase of four degrees.
He said Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, recorded the minimum temperature of minus 1.9 degrees Celsius, 1.5 degrees down from previous night.

The official said the mercury in Qazigund and Kokernag towns in south Kashmir settled at a low of minus 2.2 degrees Celsius and minus 1.4 degrees Celsius respectively.
Kupwara town in north Kashmir registered a low of minus 2.1 degrees Celsius, he said.

Gulmarg, the famous ski-resort in north Kashmir recorded a low of minus 3.4 degrees Celsius down from minus 1.5 degrees Celsius the previous night, the official said.
He said the other famous health resort of Pahalgam - which serves as one of the base camps for the annual Amarnath Yatra registered the minimum of minus 3.9 degrees Celsius, compared to the previous night's minus 3.1 degrees Celsius.

The Meteorological Department has forecast mainly dry weather in the state for today, but predicted light rains or snowfall at isolated places in the valley tomorrow.