Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, recorded the season's lowest night temperature as cold wave further tightened its grip in most parts of the Valley.
The minimum temperature recorded in Srinagar was minus 3.0 degrees Celsius - two degrees below normal - as against minus 2.7 the previous night, a spokesman of the MET department said.
Earlier, Srinagar recorded a low of minus 2.6 degrees Celsius on November 15.
The respite from the intense cold was felt by the people in Srinagar around noon when the Sun shone for the first time after remaining hidden behind the clouds since this morning.
Many people including shopkeepers and labourers were seen gathered around bonfire at many places in the city to beat the morning chill.
The night temperature also plummeted in other parts of the Valley and settled several degrees below the freezing point.
Pahalgam, the famous hill resort in south Kashmir which serves as the base camp during the annual Amarnath yatra, was the coldest recorded place in the Valley with a low of minus 5.2 degrees Celsius, while the ski resort of Gulmarg in north recorded a minimum of minus 2.1 degrees Celsius, the MET spokesman said.
However, he said Leh in frontier region of the Ladakh continued to be the coldest recorded place in the state with a low of minus 12.6 degrees Celsius - marking a slight improvement compared the previous night.
The minimum temperature in the nearby Kargil town also showed a slight improvement and settled at minus 8.4 degrees Celsius compared to yesterday's minus 9.7 degrees Celsius, the spokesman said.
Predicting no major change in the weather during the next two days, the spokesman, however, said there are chances of rain or snow at isolated places in the higher reaches during the next 24 hours.
Kashmir valley has going through dry weather over the past one month although the winter sets in early this season with high altitude areas including Gulmarg recording the first snowfall at the fag end of October.
