Srinagar:
After a brief respite, cold wave conditions returned to trouble Kashmir as night temperatures dipped below freezing point across the Valley, even as the weatherman predicted snowfall on Wednesday.
According to the MeT department, minimum temperatures, which had been rising till Monday, plummeted across the Valley, including at the summer capital of Srinagar which recorded a low of -0.4 degrees Celsius as against Monday night's 1.6 degrees Celsius.
The weather over the last three days had brought relief from the long spell of intense cold after a change in
temperatures following snowfall in the Valley on Saturday.
The highway town of Qazigund in south Kashmir recorded a low of -0.5 degrees Celsius, which was almost two notches below Monday's 1.8 degrees Celsius, the Met said.
Kokernag, too, was -0.5 degrees Celsius at night, registering an identical slide with Qazigund.
The north Kashmir town of Kupwara saw the mercury dip to -0.3 degree Celsius, a full degree below Monday's 0.3 degrees Celsius.
The minimum night temperature at the hill resort of Pahalgam had fallen by over three notches from Monday's 0 degrees Celsius to -3.4 degrees Celsius.
The ski resort of Gulmarg, however, was over a degree warmer at -7.0, as compared to Monday's -8.6 degrees Celsius.
The cold desert of Ladakh reported a minimum of -11.6 degrees Celsius as night temperatures increased slightly in the region where Kargil saw the mercury up by about two notches from -16.4 degrees Celsius the night before.
However, that could not keep it from still being the coldest place in Jammu and Kashmir with a low of -14.6 degrees Celsius.
The forecast for Wednesday is for light to heavy snowfall in the late afternoon which may continue till January 19 and likely bring down night temperatures.