Mercury dips across Valley; Leh coldest

     Srinagar-Leh Highway continues to remain closed to traffic

Vehicles stranded on Mughal Road due to heavy snowfall in
Poonch district of Jammu on Sunday.

Leh in the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir experienced the coldest night of the season as the mercury there settled about eight degrees below the freezing point, even as the Srinagar-Leh Highway continued to remain closed for traffic.

Leh recorded the minimum temperature of minus 7.9 degrees Celsius on Saturday night - further down from minus 6.4 degrees Celsius the previous night, an official of the Meteorological Department here said.

He said it was the lowest night temperature of the season there. The nearby Kargil town recorded a low of minus 5.8 degrees,  compared to minus 6 degrees Celsius the previous night.

The twin resorts of Pahalgam and Gulmarg were the other places in Kashmir division below freezing point.