Srinagar:
Entire Kashmir Valley reeled under cold wave as mercury dipped below freezing point in most parts of the region including the state's summer capital today.
The minimum temperature in Srinagar was recorded at a low of minus 0.5 degrees Celsius.
"The minimum temperature in most places in Kashmir division stayed below the freezing point tonight. Srinagar recorded a low of minus 0.5 degrees Celsius. It is for the first time this season that the minimum temperature dropped below zero degree here," a spokesman of the Meteorological Department here said.
He said Leh in Ladakh region was the coldest recorded place in the state with a low of minus 7.1 degrees Celsius.
The nearby Kargil town registered the minimum temperature of minus 6.6 degrees Celsius, the spokesman said.
The famous ski-resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir recorded a low of minus 4.6 degrees Celsius, while Pahalgam, in south, registered the minimum of minus 3.5 degrees Celsius, he said.
The spokesman said the mercury in Kupwara town in north Kashmir settled at a low of minus 1.1 degrees Celsius, while Qazigund -- the gateway town to Kashmir Valley-- recorded a low of minus 0.8 degree Celsius.
Kokernag, in south, was the only recorded place in Kashmir Valley where the minimum temperature stayed above the freezing point at 0.8 degree Celsius, he said.
The MET Office has said the weather is likely to remain dry over the next week and there is possibility of further drop in the temperature.
