Srinagar: The ski-resort of Gulmarg was the coldest recorded place in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday as the minimum temperature at most places across the Valley settled below the freezing point, Met officials said.
Jammu recorded the coldest day of the season on Monday with the maximum temperature dipping to 11.6 degrees Celsius — 9.8 degrees below normal during this time of the season.
Most places in the Kashmir Valley, with the exception of Qazigund town in the south, recorded sub-zero night temperature owing to a clear sky, the Meteorological department said.
They said Qazigund – the gateway town to the Valley – recorded a minimum of 0.3 degrees Celsius.
Srinagar recorded a low of minus 1.4 degrees Celsius, while Kupwara in the north registered a low of minus 1.3 degrees Celsius and Kokernag in the south recorded minus 1.1 degrees Celsius, the officials said.
The mercury in Gulmarg settled at a low of minus 9 degrees Celsius – down from Sunday’s minus 7.6 degrees Celsius, they said.
Pahalgam tourist resort in south Kashmir recorded a low of minus 6.7 degrees Celsius, the officials said.
The Met office said that the weather is likely to remain mainly dry till December 20 with the possibility of further decrease in night temperatures.
Meanwhile, the day temperature in Jammu city fell by 6.4 notches compared to Sunday, prompting the residents, who woke up to a dense blanket of fog, to cover themselves in layers of woolen clothes to escape the biting cold.
Bhaderwah in Doda district was the coldest place in Jammu region with a low of minus 1.4 degrees Celsius, the officials said.
Banihal town along the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway in Ramban district, which recently experienced snowfall, also reeled under the sub-zero night temperature of minus 1.0 degrees Celsius, they said.
However, the day temperature in the highway town settled at 14 degrees Celsius, providing some sort of relief to the local residents.
Katra, the base camp for the pilgrims visiting Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine, recorded a maximum of 13.4 degrees Celsius and a minimum of 7.2 degrees Celsius, a Met official said.
