Cold wave intensifies in Kashmir valley, Leh coldest

Srinagar, Dec 15: Cold wave intensified in Kashmir valley with Leh town in Ladakh region being the coldest place in Jammu and Kashmir as the mercury fell there to minus 14 degrees Celsius.

An official of the Meteorological Department here said the minimum temperature in Leh registered a drop of two degrees yesterday compared to previous night.

He said the nearby Kargil town recorded a low of minus 11.4 degrees Celsius, slightly up from minus 12.1 degrees Celsius a night earlier.

The famous ski-resort of Gulmarg, in north Kashmir, registered a slump of nearly eight degrees in the night temperature as the minimum settled at minus 8.8 degrees Celsius compared to the previous night's minus 1.0 degrees Celsius.

The mercury in Pahalgam, which serves as a base camp for the annual Amarnath Yatra in south Kashmir, dropped more than three degrees to settle at minus 7.5 degrees Celsius, the official said.

Srinagar, the summer capital of the state, recorded a low of minus 0.3 degrees Celsius while Qazigund and Kokernag, both in south Kashmir, recorded minus 0.8 degrees Celsius and minus 1.3 degrees Celsius respectively.

The night temperature in Kupwara town in north Kashmir dropped nearly two degrees to settle at minus 2.5 degrees Celsius. The MET Office has forecast mainly dry weather over the next 24 hours.

PTI