File photo of snowfall in Srinagar
Cold wave conditions returned to Kashmir after a day's respite as the minimum temperatures in most places in the valley and Ladakh region decreased with the mercury in Srinagar settling below the freezing point.
The residents of the Valley had some relief from the cold wave the previous night as the temperatures rose by several degrees.
But the minimum temperatures dropped in most places last night after Srinagar recorded a minimum temperature of -1.2 degrees Celsius, down over one degree from the previous night's 0.3 degree Celsius, an official of the MeT department said here.
The minimum temperature in Pahalgam, a tourist resort in south Kashmir which also serves as a base camp during theannual Amarnath yatra, also dropped by a degree to settle at -1.4 degrees Celsius, as against the previous night's 0.4 degree Celsius.
The mercury in the ski-resort of Gulmarg settled at a low of -1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to the previous night's -1.2 degrees Celsius.
Qazigiund, the gateway town to Kashmir, recorded a minimum temperature of -1.3 degrees Celsius, one degree up from the previous night's -2.3 degrees Celsius.
Kupwara town in north Kashmir registered a low of 0.1 degree Celsius, compared to 0.5 degree Celsius the previous night.
The mercury settled at a low of zero degree Celsius, compared to the previous night's -0.1 degree Celsius.
Leh continues to be the coldest place in state and the minimum temperature in the frontier town settled at -11.0 degrees Celsius, one degree down from the previous night's -10.0 degrees Celsius.
The night temperature in the nearby Kargil town registered a decrease of over two degrees from the previous night's low of -4.6 degrees Celsius to settle at a low of -7.0 degrees Celsius.
The MeT Department has said there is a possibility of snowfall in the higher reaches of the Valley early next week.