J&K Reels Under Arctic Conditions; Season's Coldest Night In Many Places

Most places in Jammu and Kashmir experienced the season's coldest night on Friday, even as the temperatures continued to fall in the valley and Ladakh region, weather department officials said.

The minimum temperature across the Kashmir valley, barring Pahalgam, dropped due to a clear sky last night, they said.

Srinagar - the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir - recorded a low of minus 4.2 degrees Celsius. The officials said Kokernag, Qazigund, Kupwara, Gulmarg, Leh and Drass also experienced the season's coldest night on Friday.

Kokernag town in south Kashmir recorded a low of minus 6.6 degrees Celsius - the lowest night temperature for December in over a decade.

Qazigund - the gateway town to the valley - recorded the coldest December night in the last four years at 5 degrees Celsius. It had registered a low of minus 5.9 degrees Celsius on December 27, 2014, the officials said.

The night temperature in Pahalgam, one of the base camps for the annual Amarnath yatra in south Kashmir, settled at 9.5 degrees Celsius.

Pahalgam, which on Thursday experienced the coldest December night in over a decade, was the only place in the valley and Ladakh region where the night temperature increased last night.

At minus 11.5 degrees Celsius, the ski-resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir recorded the coldest December night in the last three years, the officials said.

Kupwara in north Kashmir saw temperatures going down to minus 4.5 degrees Celsius.

The temperature in Leh town, in the Ladakh region, fell eight degrees last night to settle at minus 13.9 degrees Celsius.

The officials said Kargil town recorded a low of minus 10.2 degrees Celsius. Drass, in Kargil district, had a low of minus 19.7 degrees Celsius and was the coldest place in Jammu and Kashmir.