Leh coldest place in J-K at 11.4 degrees Celsius

Srinagar: The minimum temperature in Kashmir division, including Ladakh region, continued its downward slide as Leh and Srinagar recorded the coldest night of this season so far.

Leh, in Ladakh region, was the coldest recorded place in the state as it registered a low of minus 11.4 degrees Celsius last night, a decrease of over one degree from minus 10.2 degrees Celsius the previous night, an official of the MeT department said.

Srinagar also saw the mercury dip slightly to minus 2.0 degrees Celsius, down 0.3 degrees from previous night, he said. The official said the minimum temperatures recorded in Leh and Srinagar were the coldest in these places this winter so far.

The mercury in the nearby Kargil settled at minus 6.2 degrees Celsius, a slight increase from the previous night’s minus 6.6 degrees Celsius, he said. The official said Qazigund, Kokernag, Pahalgam and Kupwara also experienced sub-zero temperatures last night.

While the mercury settled at minus 1.6 degree Celsius in Qazigund town in south Kashmir, which was nearly a degree down from the previous night’s minus 0.8 degrees Celsius. The minimum in nearby Kokernag was minus 0.4 degree Celsius, the official said.

He said Pahalgam, which serves as one of the base camps for the annual Amarnath Yatra, recorded the minimum of minus 4.5 degrees Celsius compared to previous night’s minus 2.7 degrees Celsius, while Kupwara in north Kashmir registered a low of minus 2.6 degrees Celsius.

The official said Gulmarg, the famous ski-resort in north Kashmir recorded a low of minus 5.0 degrees Celsius, compared to minus 5.6 degrees Celsius the previous night. The Meteorological Department has forecast mainly dry weather in the valley over the next few days.