Some respite from cold as mercury rises in Kashmir
SRINAGAR: The minimum temperature in Srinagar settled above the freezing point for the first time in over a month as the mercury rose at most places in Kashmir on Thursday, providing relief to the residents, even as the valley experienced fresh snowfall, officials said.
Srinagar city -- the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir -recorded a low of 0.4 degrees Celsius last night, up from the previous night’s minus 0.4 degrees Celsius, the officials said. They said it was for the first time in 37 days that the night temperature in the city settled above the freezing point. The city had recorded zero degrees Celsius on December 29 last year and since then it was reeling under sub zero minimum temperatures.
The cold wave had intensified across the valley after heavy snowfall on January 3 and Srinagar recorded its lowest minimum temperature in 30 years on January 31 at minus 8.8 degrees Celsius.
Qazigund recorded a minimum of 0.8 degrees Celsius, three degrees up from minus 2.8 degrees Celsius the previous night, officials said.
Pahalgam tourist resort, recorded a low of minus 3.3 degrees Celsius – up from the previous night’s minus 3.9 degrees Celsius.
The minimum temperature at the Gulmarg skiing resort, in Baramulla district, settled at minus 6.4 degrees Celsius last night -- down from minus 5.2 degrees Celsius the previous night. Kupwara town, in north Kashmir, recorded a low of minus 0.6 degrees Celsius, while the minimum temperature in Kokernag, in the south, settled at minus 5.1 degrees Celsius.