Most areas in Kashmir record sub-zero night temperature

Srinagar: Cold conditions set in Kashmir as most places recorded sub-zero night temperature, even as the meteorological office has forecast dry weather with colder nights till the end of this month, officials said on Wednesday.

Mercury across the Valley, except Kokernag in South Kashmir, settled below the freezing point on Tuesday night, the officials said.

They said Srinagar, too, experienced sub-zero night temperature for the first time this season.

The city recorded the minimum temperature of minus 0.8 degrees Celsius on Tuesday night – about a degree below the normal for this time of the year, the officials said.

The famous ski-resort of Gulmarg in North Kashmir’s Baramulla district recorded minus 3.8 degrees Celsius, while Pahalgam tourist resort, which also serves as one of the base camps for the annual Amarnath yatra, reeled at minus 4.8 degrees Celsius.

Qazigund, the gateway town to the Valley, in South Kashmir’s Anantnag district, recorded the minimum temperature of minus 1.6 degrees Celsius, while the mercury in Kupwara in north Kashmir settled at a low of minus 2.9 degrees Celsius.

Kokernag, which recorded a low of 0.3 degrees Celsius, was the only meteorological station in Kashmir where the minimum temperature stayed above the freezing point.

Leh town in Ladakh recorded a low of minus 9.6 degrees Celsius, while the minimum in Drass was minus 13.5 degrees Celsius.

The MeT office said the mercury is expected to dip further as the days would be clearer and warmer, but the nights will be colder.