Snowfall brings down mercury in Kashmir Valley

Parts of Kashmir received fresh snowfall and rains today bringing down minimum temperatures in most areas of the Valley and Ladakh region by several degrees.
"Fresh snowfall was recorded in many areas of Kashmir Valley including in Srinagar, Ganderbal, Pahalgam and Qazigund today," an official of the MET Department here said.
Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, received snowfall and rains equivalent to 4 mm of rainfall, the official said.
The city recorded a minimum temperature of 0.3 degree Celsius last night, compared to minus 0.6 degree Celsius the previous night, the official said.
Mercury in Qazigund - the gateway town to Kashmir valley - settled at minus 1.2 degrees Celsius, as against the previous night's minus 1.4 degrees Celsius. The town received 3.4 cm of snow.

Pahalgam resort, which serves as base camp during annual Amarnath yatra, received 12.3 cm of fresh snow and the mercury there settled at minus 4.2 degrees Celsius, down by two degrees from minus 2.2 degrees Celsius the previous night, the official said.

Night temperature in the famous ski-resort of Gulmarg went down by over one degree to record a low of minus 8.8 degrees Celsius as against the previous night's minus 7.0 degrees Celsius.
Kokernag and Kupwara towns registered minimum temperatures of minus 2.6 degrees Celsius and minus 0.7 degree Celsius respectively, the official said, adding Kokernag received 2 mm of rainfall.

Leh town, in Ladakh region, registered a decline of almost four degrees in the minimum temperature as the mercury settled at a low of minus 10.7 degrees Celsius as against minus 6.9 degrees Celsius the previous night.
The data for Kargil was not available, the official said.
The MET Department has predicted the weather would remain mainly dry over the state.