Mercury drops below freezing as rains, snow lash Valley

Upper reaches in Kashmir region including Ladakh experienced fresh snowfall on Friday night while rains pounded the plains, resulting in a sharp drop in temperature.

A Met department official said fresh snowfall occurred in Zojila Pass, Drass, Kargil in Ladakh region and tourist resorts Sonamarg, Pahalgam and Gulmarg in Kashmir during the night. Snowfall in the higher reaches led to a dip in the night temperatures with Srinagar recording minimum temperature of 1.8 degrees, he said.

The minimum temperature at famous ski resort Gulmarg in north Kashmir was minus 3.0 degrees Celsius while tourist resort Pahalgam, which serves as a base camp during the annual Amarnath Yatra in south Kashmir, recorded a minimum of 0.4 degrees.

The Meteorological department has predicted inclement weather till Saturday evening. As cold breeze from the snow-clad mountains plummeted temperature, people were forced to put on woollen clothes, including the traditional pheran (Kashmiri gown).

Meanwhile, people were seen looking for heating gadgets in Srinagar markets. The sale of heating appliances, kangris (local heaters), woollens and blankets have picked up in the market. A good number of people have started moving to other parts of the country to escape winters besides the biannual Durbar Move employees.