Mercury drops further in Kashmir, Srinagar records coldest night of season

The mercury continued its downward spiral in Kashmir on Tuesday as the minimum temperature settled several degrees below the freezing point at most places in the valley and Ladakh region, while Srinagar experienced the coldest night of the season so far.

The summer capital Srinagar recorded the minimum temperature of minus 3.2 degrees Celsius last night, an official of the Meteorological Department here said, adding that it was the coldest night of the season so far.

The night temperature in the city on Monday was minus 2.8 degrees Celsius.

The official said other places across the valley and Ladakh region too experienced sub-zero night temperatures last night as the mercury dropped further.

Pahalgam health resort, which serves as one of the base camps for the annual Amarnath yatra in south Kashmir, registered a low of minus 5.5 degrees Celsius and was the coldest recorded place in the valley, he said.

The famous ski-resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir recorded the minimum of minus 4 degrees Celsius, he added.

The official said Kokernag in south Kashmir recorded a low of minus 1.3 degrees Celsius, while the mercury in the nearby Qazigund settled at minus 2.8 degrees.

The temperature in Kupwara, in north Kashmir, settled at a low of minus 3.2 degrees Celsius, while Leh, in Ladakh region of the state, recorded a low of minus 10.6 degrees Celsius and the nearby Kargil registered the minimum of minus 9.7 degrees Celsius, the official said.

Leh was the coldest recorded place in Jammu and Kashmir, the official said, adding that there was a possibility of light rainfall at isolated places in the valley on Wednesday.