Intense cold wave in Kashmir

Srinagar: The cold wave in Kashmir intensified as mercury slipped several degrees below freezing point in most places of the valley with Gulmarg recording the lowest night temperature of minus 10 degrees Celsius.

Srinagar city recorded a low of minus 3.2 degrees Celsius Thursday night a drop of 0.2 degrees Celsius from the previous night, the Meteorological department (MeT) official said Friday. The city had earlier experienced two relatively warm nights consecutively as the minimum temperature had stayed above the freezing point for more than 48 hours.

Qazigund -- the gateway town to the valley -- in south Kashmir, recorded a low of minus 0.8 degrees Celsius, while the nearby Kokernag town registered a low of minus 1.0 degrees Celsius, he said.

In north Kashmir, Kupwara recorded a low of 4.6 degrees Celsius on Thursday night, a decrease of over one degree, the official said.

The night temperature in Pahalgam, which serves as one of the base camps for the annual Amarnath yatra in south Kashmir, settled at minus 6.8 degrees Celsius Thursday night up by half-a-degree compared to previous night, the official said. The official said the ski-resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir was the coldest place in the valley as the minmum temperature settled at minus 10.0 degrees Celsius - over one degree down from the previous night's minus 8.5 degrees Celsius. Leh town in Ladakh region of the state recorded minus 14.5 degrees Celsius on Thursday night, down from minus 13.3 degrees Celsius the previous night, he said.

Reeling under intense cold at minus 18.6 degrees Celsius, Kargil was the coldest recorded place in the state, he said.

The MeT department has forecast more precipitation in Kashmir on Friday and Saturday. Kashmir is currently under the grip of 'Chillai-Kalan' the 40-day harshest period of winter when the chances of snowfall are maximum and the temperature drops considerably.