Cold wave tightens grip over Kashmir division, Kargil coldest

SRINAGAR: Cold wave tightened its grip in Kashmir as the minimum temperature dropped further across the division, with Kargil being the coldest place in Jammu and Kashmir as the mercury settled 10 degrees below the freezing point in the region.

An official of the Meteorological Department here said that Kargil was the coldest recorded place in J&K as the temperature settled at minus 10.3 degree Celsius, making it the coldest night of the season so far in the frontier town of Ladakh region.

The nearby Leh town registered minus 9.9 degree Celsius, which was over a degree down from minus 8.6 degree Celsius recorded the previous night, the official said.

Srinagar, the summer capital of the state, recorded the minimum temperature of minus 1.4 degree Celsius, further down from yesterday's minus 1.2 degree Celsius, he said.

He said this was the coldest night in the city so far this winter.

The tourist resort of Pahalgam, which serves as a base camp during the annual Amarnath Yatra, recorded a low of minus 3.8 degree Celsius, while the famous ski-resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir registered the minimum of minus 2.0 degree Celsius.

The official said that Gulmarg was the only recorded place in the Valley where the night temperature increased.

The resort had recorded a low of minus 2.8 degree Celsius yesterday.

The minimum temperature in Kokernag in south Kashmir settled at minus 0.4 degree Celsius, while the mercury in Qazigund, the gateway town to Kashmir Valley, registered a low of minus 2.2 degree Celsius, the official said.

He said Kupwara in north Kashmir recorded a low of minus 2.1 degrees Celsius, down from the previous night's minus 1.9 degrees Celsius.

The MET Office has predicted dry weather for the week ahead.