Kargil freezes at minus 17.2 degrees Celsius, coldest in Jammu and Kashmir

SRINAGAR: Kargil, in the frontier Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir, continued to be the coldest recorded place in the state registering the lowest temperature of the season, with Mercury remaining several degrees below the freezing point elsewhere, a MeT department official said.

Kargil recorded the minimum temperature of minus 17.2 degrees Celsius, down from minus 16.6 degrees the previous night, a MeT department official said.

Leh, also in Ladakh region, recorded a minimum temperature of minus of 16.2 degrees Celsius, slightly down from the previous night's minus 16.0 degrees Celsius.

Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, recorded a low of minus 4.2 degrees Celsius, same as the previous night, the official said.

She said Qazigund, the gateway town to Kashmir Valley in south, recorded a low of minus 5.0 degrees Celsius, slightly down from minus 4.6 degrees Celsius the previous night.

The Mercury in Pahalgam resort in south Kashmir, which serves as a base-camp for the annual Amarnath yatra, registered a low of minus 6.4 degrees Celsius, a degree up from the previous night's minus 7.4 degrees Celsius, she said.

The minimum temperature in the famous ski-resort of Gulmarg settled at minus 3 degrees Celsius, slightly up from the previous night's minus 3.6 degrees Celsius.

The night temperatures in Kupwara, in north Kashmir, settled at a low of minus 4.7 degrees Celsius, while Kokernag, in south, recorded the minimum temperature at minus 1.7 degree Celsius.

The MeT department has said a fresh western disturbance is likely to affect the state from January 12 which could result in isolated to scattered rain or thundershower.

However, it said, the weather would remain dry and cold over the state till then.

Kashmir Valley is currently under the grip of 'Chillai-Kalan' - the 40-day harshest winter period, which begins on December 21.

The chances of snowfall are maximum and most frequent during this period and the weather remains cold during as the day temperature also dips drastically, freezing most of the water bodies including the famous Dal Lake.

Though 'Chillai-Kalan' would end on January 31, the winter continues after that. The 40-day period would be followed by a 20-day long 'Chillai Khurd' (small cold) and a 10-day long 'Chillai Bachha' (baby cold).