Leh freezes as mercury plunges to minus 12 1 degrees

Some areas in the higher reaches of the Valley received snowfall and rain for the third consecutive day today, bringing down the night temperatures in most places.

“Clear night skies will cause further drop in minimum temperatures in Jammu and Kashmir”, the MET official said.

The famous ski-resort of Gulmarg, in north Kashmir, registered a minimum of minus 9.2 degrees, an increase of over a degree from the previous night’s minus 10.6 degrees.

Meanwhile, the maximum temperature was recorded at 6.5 Celsius while the minimum temperature settled at 0.6 Celsius.

“Scattered light rain started in the morning in Srinagar city…”, an official of the Met Office told IANS.

There was possibility of more rains in the plains and snowfall in the higher reaches of the Valley over the next two days.

“We have sufficient stocks of essentials while the men and machinery is ready to deal with snowfall”, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Asgar Samoon said.

On Kashmir Valley side also, all Jammu bound vehicles have been halted, the official added.

Qazigund – the gateway town to the Kashmir Valley – recorded a low of minus 0.6 degree Celsius as against 0.4 degree Celsius the previous night.

Children, however, wait eagerly for this extended period of extreme cold in the winter season because the snowfall during this period lasts longer on the ground, giving them ample opportunities for fun and frolic.

In the Jammu region, the minimum temperatures were 6.5 in Jammu city, 6.7 in Katra town, 2 in Batote and Bannihal and 0.5 degrees in Bhaderwah. The weather is expected to be similar on Sunday too.