Srinagar, Jan 28 (IANS): Bright sunshine brought the much-needed respite from winter chill for the people of Jammu, with the minimum temperature recorded at 7 degrees Celsius, the Met Office said.

The weather office has forecast a cloudy sky in the evening. Mercury stayed above the freezing point in all the places of the Jammu region.

According to Met Office, the Kashmir Valley may see some drizzle till Saturday.

In Srinagar, it was a cloudy, chilly morning with forecast of rain on Thursday evening. "There will be a mostly cloudy sky in Srinagar, leading to showers by evening," the forecast said.

The minimum temperature in Srinagar was recorded at minus 0.4 degree Celsius.

Ski resort of Gulmarg, a main winter tourist attraction, was coldest in the Kashmir region at 6 degrees Celsius below the freezing point, and Pahalgam hill resort, which serves as base camp during the annual Amarnath yatra, recorded a low of minus 5.3 degrees Celsius on Thursday.

In the Ladakh region, mercury dipped to minus 12.7 degrees in Leh, making it the coldest place across the state. The night temperature in Kargil settled at minus 11.6 degrees Celsius.

"The maximum day temperatures in Srinagar and Jammu city is likely to hover around 10 and 21 degrees Celsius respectively," the weather office said.