Srinagar: Kashmir is bracing itself for a cold snap over the coming days, with temperatures forecast to drop to be around minus 3 degrees Celsius in most parts of the Valley.
Forecasters said on Saturday that next week was expected to be cold, with the mercury likely to plunge between -3C to -4C in this summer capital of the state and -3C in rural areas including Gulmarg, the world famous tourist resort in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district.
An IMD official said: “It’s going to be fairly cold for the next few days and it will be colder on Monday and Tuesday night as temperature may drop to as low as -4C due to the clear skies.”
In south Kashmir’s Pahalgam, the weatherman forecast colder nights, between -4C to -6C in the coming week. Other parts of south Kashmir—Kokernag and Qazigund—are likely to witness night temperature of around -3C.
On weekend night temperatures dropped several notches below the freezing point.
The minimum temperature was -1.5C in Srinagar while Pahalgam and Gulmarg recorded -2.5C and -2.0C as the minimum temperatures respectively. Qazigund, the gate town of Valley, recorded a low of -2.2C, and mercury settled at -1.1C in neighbouring Kokernag. North Kashmir’s Kupwara district witnessed a low of -2C.
Leh town in Ladakh region witnessed the coldest night in the state at -8.7 C while its neighbouring Kargil town saw minimum temperature of -7.6C.