Kashmir freezes; Leh coldest in J&K at minus 14 degrees Celsius

SRINAGAR: Leh and Kargil, in the frontier Ladakh region, recorded the lowest temperatures of the season so far with the mercury plunging more than 14 degrees below the freezing point as Kashmir division continued to experience sub-zero nights.

The minimum temperature in Leh fell to bone-chilling minus 14.6 degrees Celsius, over a degree further down from the previous night's minus 13.0 degrees Celsius, a spokesman of the MET Office here said today.

Leh was the coldest place recorded in the state, he said. Kargil, also in Ladakh region, was the second coldest place recording a low of minus 14.4 degrees Celsius, a drop of over one degree from minus 12.8 degrees Celsius the previous night, the spokesman said.

He said both Leh and Kargil experienced the coldest night of the season so far.

Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, registered a minimum temperature of minus 4.2 degrees Celsius as against the previous night's minus 4.0 degrees Celsius, the spokesman said.

He said the famous hill resort of Pahalgam in south Kashmir, which serves as a base camp during the annual Amarnath yatra, was the coldest recorded place in the valley with a low of minus 6.6 degrees Celsius, as against 6.8 degrees the previous night.

Gulmarg, the famous ski-resort in north Kashmir and the star attraction for tourists visiting the Valley during winter, recorded a minimum of minus 2.2 degrees Celsius, compared to the previous night's minus 3.0 degrees Celsius.

North Kashmir's Kupwara town, 90 kms from here, recorded a low of minus 4.7 degrees Celsius against yesterday's minus 4.9 degrees Celsius, the spokesman said.

He said Qazigund, the gateway town to Kashmir on Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, and Kokernag hill resort in south Kashmir recorded a minimum of minus 3.3 and minus 4.1 degrees Celsius, respectively.

The MET Office has said the weather would remain cold and dry in the state for the next 24 hours, while there was a possibility of isolated light rain and snow on December 21 and 22.