Kashmir, Ladakh shiver as mercury drops further

Kashmir and Ladakh regions remained in the grip of cold wave on Monday, with temperatures falling several notches below normal. Leh was the coldest at minus 12 degree Celsius.

Heavy snowfall has kept Kargil, the border town on Srinagar-Leh national highway, closed for the past four days. A MeT Department official said that the town recorded a minimum temperature of minus 12.1 degree Celsius, the coldest so far this winter.

The ski resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir remained the coldest spot in the Valley at a bone-chilling minus 10 degree Celsius. Pahalgam, the tourist resort in south which serves as a base camp during the annual Amarnath yatra, recorded a minimum temperature of minus 4.1 degree Celsius against previous night’s minus 4.3 degrees, he said.

Srinagar recorded a minimum temperature of 2 degree Celsius against Sunday night’s minus 0.8 degrees. However, day chill continued in Srinagar because of icy cold winds and cloudy weather.

Qazigund town — the gateway of Kashmir on Srinagar-Jammu national highway, which is through for two-way traffic — recorded a low of 0.8 degree Celsius, same as the previous night’s, the official said.

The MeT department has forecast that the weather would continue to be dry and cold, especially in plains, and that there will be no change over the next few days.