Minus 2.3 degree Celsius records in Srinagar

Srinagar: The mercury slipped further in Kashmir on Tuesday as cold wave conditions persisted in the Valley, with Srinagar recording its coldest night of the season at minus 2.3 degrees Celsius, meteorological department officials said.

Kashmir has been experiencing sub-zero temperatures for the past few nights and in most places, the mercury has remained two to three notches below the normal for this part of the season, they said.

Pahalgam, which serves as the base camp for the annual Amarnath Yatra, recorded a low of minus 4.4 degrees Celsius last night. It was the coldest recorded place in Kashmir, the officials said.

Srinagar recorded a low of minus 2.3 degrees Celsius last night -- down from minus 1.6 degrees Celsius on Sunday night, they said.

Gulmarg resort in north Kashmir's Baramulla district recorded a minimum temperature of minus 0.6



degrees Celsius.

The mercury settled at a low of minus 3 degrees Celsius in north Kashmir's Kupwara.

Qazigund, the gateway to the Valley, recorded a minimum temperature of minus 2.2 degrees Celsius, while Kokernag registered a low of minus 1.1 degrees Celsius.

The meteorological department has said that the weather is most likely to remain dry but cold till the end of this month.

However, there is a possibility -- 40 to 50 per cent chance -- of light snowfall over extreme north Kashmir parts on November 25, it said.

The wintry conditions in Kashmir have set in much ahead of the beginning of the extremely harsh weather conditions that usually start around the third week of December. 'Chillai Kalan', the 40-day period of harsh winter in Kashmir, begins on December 21 every year.