Srinagar shivers at minus 5.4 degrees, Leh at minus 23

Rameez Bhatt:
Minimum temperatures across the Kashmir Valley and the Ladakh region dipped further on Wednesday as summer capital Srinagar shivered at minus 5.4 degrees Celsius and Leh town froze at minus 23 degrees.
     "The minimum temperature in Srinagar is three degrees below normal (average). In Leh, the minimum was at minus 23 degrees and in Kargil town, it was minus 18 degrees," assistant meteorologist at the local weather office in Srinagar AR Zargar said.

      The north Kashmir ski resort of Gulmarg recorded a minimum temperature of minus 9.5 degrees while it was minus 11.6 degrees in south Kashmir's Pahalgam hill station, Zargar added. The minimum temperature in south Kashmir's Qazigund town slipped to minus 10.6 degrees Celsius Wednesday, six degrees below the average for this time of the season. Chilly winds from the snow-clad mountains have added to the freeze prevailing in the Valley since the last fortnight. Water taps remained frozen in most parts of Srinagar Wednesday morning and the weather office did not have any immediate good news for the locals.

     "Cold, dry weather is likely to continue for another 24 hours. This means that the minimum temperatures across the Valley and Ladakh would remain much below freezing point because of radiation during cloudless
nights," Zargar said.