Mercury rises across Kashmir, slight relief from cold conditions

 Srinagar: The mercury across Kashmir rose on Friday night providing some relief to residents from cold conditions, even as all weather stations in the valley and Ladakh region continued to record sub-night zero temperature.

There was improvement in the weather as the night temperature increased considerably across the valley last night owing to overcast conditions, a MET department official said. He, however, said the mercury continued to settle below the freezing point across Kashmir division, including Ladakh region. The official said the night temperature in Srinagar city, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, settled at a low of minus 1.2 degrees Celsius last night – up over two degrees from the previous night's minus 4.0 degrees Celsius. The city had experienced the season's coldest night on the previous night. 

He said Pahalgam health resort, which serves as one of the base camps for the annual Amarnath yatra in south Kashmir, registered a low of minus 3.7 degrees Celsius - up from minus 6 degrees Celsius the previous night. The famous ski-resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir recorded a minimum of minus 6 degrees Celsius compared to minus 6.2 degrees Celsius the previous night, he said. 

Gulmarg was the coldest recorded place in the valley. The official said Kokernag in south Kashmir recorded a low of minus 0.9 degrees Celsius, while the mercury in the nearby Qazigund settled at minus 1.6 degrees Celsius. He said the mercury in Kupwara, in north Kashmir, settled at a low of minus 1.9 degrees Celsius. Leh town in the frontier Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir recorded a low of minus 6.6 degrees Celsius, the official said. 

He said the mercury in the nearby Kargil town settled at a low of minus 11.4 degrees Celsius last night. Kargil was the coldest recorded place in the state. The MET Office has forecast light rainfall or snow at isolated places in Jammu and Kashmir, especially in the higher reaches of the state, on Saturday, but said there is possibility of scattered rainfall or snow from Sunday.