Srinagar, Jan 3 (IANS): The free fall of mercury continued Thursday as the night temperatures dipped further below the freezing point throughout the Valley and the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir. The Met Office says the cold wave conditions would get worse in the coming days.

"The weather is likely to remain dry with clear night skies in the (Kashmir) Valley and the Ladakh region for a few more days. This will bring down the night temperatures by a few notches more," an official said.

"The minimum temperature was minus 4 degrees Celsius in Srinagar today (Thursday). It was minus 7.8 degrees Celsius in Pahalgam, minus 9 degrees Celsius in Gulmarg, minus 16 degrees Celsius in Leh and minus 16.2 degrees Celsius in Kargil town," said a Met official here.

A thin film of frost has already started appearing on the roads here in the mornings and the evenings. Motorists here avoid venturing out on the roads before the sun comes out and prefer getting indoors before the evening frost sets in.