Fresh snow in Srinagar, parts of Kashmir; mercury nears freezing point

Most parts of Kashmir, including Srinagar, received a fresh spell of snow on Sunday as the mercury stayed close to the freezing point in the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir for the second consecutive day.

Snow was witnessed in several areas of Bandipora, Baramulla and Kupwara districts in north Kashmir and some parts of Budgam and Ganderbal districts in central Kashmir in the morning, the officials said.

Srinagar city and some areas in south Kashmir received snow late in the evening, they said.

The summer capital stayed in the grip of an intense cold wave with a maximum temperature of just 1.5 degrees Celsius recorded on Sunday.

The mercury has stayed below two degrees Celsius for the past 48 hours as the maximum temperature on Saturday was 1.2 degrees Celsius.

The night temperature in the valley fell with Kokernag town in South Kashmir freezing at minus 8.1 degrees Celsius, the officials said on Sunday.

In Srinagar, the mercury settled at a low of minus 2.5 degrees Celsius, slightly up from the previous night's minus 2.2 degrees, the Met said.