Some respite from cold as mercury rises in Kashmir

There was some respite from cold conditions in Kashmir as the night temperature rose on Saturday owing to cloudy sky, even as the weatherman has forecast light rain or snow in the valley later in the day. A MeT official said the minimum temperature in Srinagar improved over three degrees from minus 6.1 degrees Celsius on Friday to settle at minus 3 degrees Celsius.

The official said the mercury in Qazigund – the gateway town to the valley in south Kashmir – settled at a low of minus 6.4 degrees Celsius, an increase of nearly two degrees from the previous night's minus 8.2 degrees Celsius. The night temperature in Pahalgam tourist resort in south Kashmir settled at a low of minus 4.2 degrees Celsius, an increase of nine degrees from minus 13.4 degrees Celsius yesterday.

The ski-resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir registered a minimum of minus 9.8 degrees Celsius, compared to minus 11 degrees Celsius the previous night, he said. Gulmarg was the coldest recorded place in the Kashmir valley, the official added. The night temperature in Kokernag in south Kashmir settled at a low of minus 5.8 degrees Celsius, while Kupwara in north recorded a low of minus 6.8 degrees Celsius, the official said.

Leh in Ladakh Union Territory recorded the low of minus 16.2 degrees Celsius, the official added. The MeT office has forecast scattered light rain or snow in the valley on Saturday.