Mercury settles below freezing point in Kashmir Valley

Cold conditions returned to Kashmir after a days relief as the minimum temperature went down last night and the mercury settled below the freezing point across the valley and Ladakh region.
The night temperature once again went down across Kashmir division, including Ladakh region, and stayed below the freezing point at all stations, an official of the MET department here said.
The night temperature had increased across the division on the previous night and settled above the freezing point at several places in the valley.
Srinagar city, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, recorded the minimum temperature of minus 2.7 degrees Celsius last night down over three degrees from 0.7 degree Celsius the previous night, the official said.

He said the mercury in Qazigund in south Kashmir settled at a low of minus 1.6 degrees Celsius over a degree down from minus 0.4 degree Celsius the previous night.
Kokernag town recorded a low of minus 1.1 degrees Celsius - down from yesterdays 0.4 degree Celsius, he said.

Kupwara town in north Kashmir registered a low of minus 2.4 degrees Celsius last night a decrease of over two degrees from the previous nights 0.1 degree Celsius, the official said.
He said the mercury at the famous ski-resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir settled at a low of minus 4 degrees Celsius

nearly two degrees colder than the previous nights minus 2.4 degrees Celsius.
The night temperature in Pahalgam - the famous health resort which also serves as one of the base camps for the annual Amarnath Yatra recorded a low of minus 2.5 degrees Celsius over two degrees down from yesterdays minus 0.3 degree Celsius, the official said.
The night temperature in Kargil, in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir, decreased nearly six degrees last night as the mercury there settled at a low of minus 9.6 degrees Celsius from minus 3.7 degrees Celsius the previous night, he said.
Kargil was the coldest recorded place in Jammu and Kashmir.

The official said the nearby Leh town recorded a low of minus 7.1 degrees Celsius, compared to the previous night's minus 6.2 degrees Celsius.
Kashmir is currently under the grip of Chillai-Kalan
a 40-day harshest period of winter when the chances of snowfall are most frequent and maximum and the temperature drops considerably.
It ends on January 31 next year, but the cold wave continues even after that in the valley.
The 40-day period is followed by a 20-day long Chillai- Khurd (small cold) and a 10-day long Chillai-Bachha (baby cold).
The MET Office has forecast mainly dry weather in Kashmir for a few days.