Night temperatures rise across Kashmir, Ladakh

Srinagar: There was huge improvement in the night temperature across Kashmir division, including Ladakh region, even as some places in the Valley received rains overnight.

The Meteorological Department (MeT) has forecast scattered to widespread rainfall or snow over five days from today.

The minimum temperature at most places in Kashmir settled above the freezing point last night, a MeT official here said.

The mercury has continuously marked upward movement in the last few days owing to overcast conditions.

The official said many places in the Valley received rains overnight, but there were no reports of snowfall anywhere.

The mercury in Srinagar settled at a low of 5.1 degrees up by nearly two degrees from the previous night's 3.5 degrees Celsius, the official said.

Qazigund, the gateway town to the Valley, registered the minimum temperature of 2.6 degrees, a notch above from the previous night.

The north Kashmir town of Kupwara registered a low of 2.5 degrees and Kokernag in south recorded a low of 3.8 degrees Celsius, the official said.

The health resort of Pahalgam in south Kashmir, which serves as a base camp for the annual Amarnath yatra, recorded a low of 0.7 degrees, while the mercury at the famous ski-resort of Gulmarg in north settled at minus 1.0 degrees Celsius, over two degrees up from yesterday.

The official said Gulmarg was the only place in the Valley where the mercury stayed below the freezing point.

Leh, in Ladakh region, also recorded a low of minus 1.0 degrees, an increase of over six degrees from the previous night's minus 5.6 degrees Celsius.

The nearby Kargil town was the coldest recorded place in the state with a low of minus 4.8 degrees Celsius, compared to the previous night's minus 7.5 degrees Celsius, the official said.