Intense cold wave conditions prevail in Kashmir

Srinagar, Dec 16: Kashmir was in the grip of intense cold wave as the minimum temperature stayed several degrees below freezing point, officials said here on Monday.

Srinagar city recorded a minimum temperature of minus 3.4 degrees Celsius, same as the previous night.

Gulmarg recorded a low of minus 4 degrees Celsius, slightly down from the night before.

Pahalgam, which serves as the base camp for the annual Amarnath Yatra, recorded a low of minus 5 degrees Celsius which was marginally below the previous night's minus 4.8 degrees Celsius.

Konibal, a sleepy hamlet on the outskirts of Pampore town, was the coldest place in the valley as mercury dipped to minus 6 degrees Celsius.

The minimum temperature in Qazigund -- the gateway to Kashmir -- was minus 4 degrees Celsius, Kupwara in north Kashmir minus 4.2 degrees, and Kokernag in south Kashmir minus 3.9 degrees.

The Met office has forecast mainly dry weather till December 26 with possibility of light snowfall in higher reaches of the valley on the night of December 21-22.

However, the minimum temperature is forecast to fall further in the valley and there will be a cold wave over many stations during the next three days, it said.