There was a slight improvement in the intense cold conditions in Kashmir as the minimum temperature rose across the valley, but continued to settle below the freezing point, officials said here on Wednesday.

Srinagar city recorded a minimum temperature of minus 4.5 degrees Celsius slightly up from minus 5.3 degrees Celsius the previous night, the officials said.

They said the intense cold conditions over the past few days led to the freezing of the fringes of several water bodies, including the Dal Lake here, while water supply lines in many areas of the city here and elsewhere in the valley were also frozen due to the cold.

The famous ski-resort of Gulmarg recorded a low of minus 5 degrees Celsius a degree down from the night before.

Tourist resort Pahalgam, which also serves as one of the base camps for the annual Amarnath Yatra, recorded a low of minus 5.8 degrees Celsius which was slightly up from the previous night's minus 5 degrees Celsius.

Konibal, a sleepy hamlet on the outskirts of Pampore town, was the coldest place in the valley as mercury settled at the low of minus 6.5 degrees Celsius.

The minimum temperature in Qazigund -- the gateway to Kashmir -- was minus 5 degrees Celsius, Kupwara in north Kashmir minus 4.4 degrees, and Kokernag in south Kashmir minus 2.8 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 few days, it said.

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