Srinagar:  The residents of Srinagar continued to experience respite from intense cold, but the rest of Kashmir reeled under sub-zero temperatures, a meteorological department official said Thursday.

The city recorded a low of 0.2 degrees Celsius on Wednesday night, an increase of 0.2 degrees from the previous night, the official said.

Qazigund in south Kashmir recorded a minimum temperature of minus 0.4 degrees Celsius, while it was minus 2.3 degrees Celsius in nearby Kokernag town and 3.2 degrees Celsius in Kupwara in north Kashmir, a decrease of three degrees, the official said.

The night temperature in Pahalgam, which serves as one of the base camps for the annual Amarnath yatra, was minus 7.3 degrees Celsius, plunging nearly seven degrees from the previous night, he said.

The ski-resort of Gulmarg recorded a low of minus 8.5 degrees Celsius, over three degrees down from minus 5.0 degrees Celsius on Tuesday night.

Leh town in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir recorded minus 13.3 degrees Celsius, down from minus 12.4 degrees Celsius on Tuesday night, the official said.

Kargil was the coldest place in the state with minus 17.6 degrees Celsius, he added.

The Met department has forecast more precipitation in Kashmir over the next two days. Kashmir is currently under the grip of ‘Chillai-Kalan’ the 40-day harshest period of winter when the chances of snowfall are most frequent and maximum and the temperature drops considerably.

‘Chillai-Kalan’ ends on January 31, but the cold wave continues even after that in Kashmir. The 40-day period is followed by a 20-day long ‘Chillai-Khurd’ (small cold) and a 10-day long ‘Chillai-Bachha’ (baby cold). PTI MIJ