Respite from cold as minimum temperatures rise in Valley

Residents of the Kashmir Valley got some respite from the freezing cold as the minimum temperatures rose by several degrees in the region.
Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, recorded a minimum temperature of minus 1.1 degrees Celsius last night, almost two degrees up from the previous night's low of minus 3 degrees Celsius, an official of the MeT Department here said.
Mercury in Qazigund - the gateway town to Kashmir Valley - increased by almost four degrees to settle at a low of minus 3.9 degrees Celsius as against minus 7.6 degrees Celsius the previous night.
Kupwara, in north Kashmir registered a low of minus 3 degrees Celsius as compared to the previous night's minus 4 degrees Celsius, the official said.

The night temperature in south Kashmir's Kokernag settled at a low of minus 5.2 degrees Celsius as compared to the previous night's minus 5.7 degrees Celsius.
The mercury in Pahalgam hill resort, in south Kashmir, went up by almost seven degrees from the previous night's low of minus 12.4 degrees Celsius, to settle at a low of minus 5.6 degrees Celsius last night.

The famous ski-resort of Gulmarg, which recorded a low of minus 10.8 degrees Celsius the previous night, registered a low of minus 7.6 degrees Celsius last night - a rise of over three degrees.
Leh, in the frontier region of Ladakh, continues to be the coldest place in the state with the mercury rising by over six degrees to settle at a low of minus 12.1 degrees Celsius as compared to the previous night's minus 18.9 degrees Celsius.

The mercury in the nearby Kargil town went up by over five degrees from the previous night's minus 16.6 degrees Celsius to settle at a low of minus 11.5 degrees Celsius the previous night, the official said.
The MeT Department has said the weather would remain mainly dry till January 17 and the minimum temperatures would continue to hover around the freezing point.