Bright winter sunshine provided much needed relief to the denizens of Kashmir and Ladakh regions where the night temperature continued to stay below freezing point with Leh recording a low of minus 10.6 degrees Celsius.
Leh, 434 kms from Srinagar, recorded an increase of nearly one degree compared to yesterday's minus of 11.3 degrees Celsius.
However, the nearby Kargil town witnessed a drop in the night temperature which settled at minus 10 degrees Celsius against previous night's minus 9 degrees Celsius, a spokesman of the MET office said.
He said the famous ski resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir, a star attraction for tourists visiting the Valley during winter, was the coldest recorded place in the Valley with a low of minus 7 degrees Celsius - a drop of almost two degrees compared to the previous night.
The summer capital Srinagar recorded a low of minus 0.9 degrees Celsius - same as the previous night which is two degrees below normal during this part of the season, the spokesman said.
However, a bright sun shone this morning providing much needed relief to the people from the bone-chilling cold during the night hours.
Srinagar recorded a maximum of 15.5 degrees Celsius yesterday, which was five degrees above normal.
Pahalgam hill resort in south, which serves as a base camp during the annual Amarnath yatra, witnessed a slight improvement in the night temperature which settled at minus 3.9 degrees Celsius against yesterday's minus 4.3 degrees Celsius, the spokesman said.
He said the minimum temperature recorded at Qazigund town, the gateway town to Kashmir, was minus 0.8 degrees Celsius, while Kupwara town in north Kashmir recorded a low of minus 1.1 degrees Celsius.
However, Kokernag hill resort in south Kashmir was the only place in the Valley where the night temperature settled above freezing point.
The hill resort recorded a minimum of 1.1 degrees Celsius against yesterday's 0.6 degrees Celsius, the spokesman said.
The spokesman predicted dry weather during the next 24 hours.
