Leh records coldest night of the season

LEH, Feb 14: Leh recorded its coldest February night as the mercury there settled at a low of minus 16.3 degrees Celsius, even as there was slight improvement in the minimum temperature across the Valley. The town in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir was the coldest recorded place in the state, an official of the Meteorological Department said. Srinagar, the summer capital of the state, recorded a low of minus 1.1 degrees Celsius — an increase of over a degree from the previous night’s minus 2.2 degrees Celsius, the official said. He said Qazigund, the gateway town to the Valley, registered minimum temperature of minus 1.6 degrees Celsius- same as that of the previous night. The official said the mercury in the famous ski-resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir settled at minus 6.5 degrees Celsius, up from yesterdays minus 7.6 degrees Celsius. The health resort of Pahalgam in south Kashmir, which serves as a base camp for the annual Amarnath yatra, recorded a low of minus 6.4 degrees Celsius. The north Kashmir town of Kupwara registered a low of minus 3.8 degrees Celsius and Kokernag in south recorded a low of 0.1 degree Celsius, the official said. He said Kokernag town was the only place in Kashmir where the minimum temperature stayed above the freezing point. The Meteorological Department has forecast another spell of wet weather in Kashmir from tomorrow. The official said there is possibility of isolated rainfall or snow over two days from tomorrow, while there are chances of scattered rains or snow over a few days from February 18.