Kashmir reeled under intense cold on Friday as Srinagar recorded the coldest night of the season, with temperatures plunging well below the freezing point and leading to the freezing of parts of Dal Lake and other water bodies.
According to officials, the minimum temperature in Srinagar dropped to minus 6.0 degrees Celsius on Thursday night, falling from minus 5.1 degrees Celsius recorded a night earlier. The temperature was 4.1 degrees below the seasonal average, marking the coldest night in the city so far this winter.
The severe cold conditions resulted in partial freezing of several water bodies, particularly the interior stretches of Dal Lake, as the valley continued to endure harsh winter conditions.
In south Kashmir, Pahalgam, a major tourist destination and one of the base camps for the annual Amarnath Yatra, emerged as the coldest place in Jammu and Kashmir, recording a low of minus 7.6 degrees Celsius, slightly higher than the previous night.
The ski resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district recorded a minimum temperature of minus 7.2 degrees Celsius, up by nearly two degrees compared to the previous night. Meanwhile, Sonamarg in central Kashmir registered a low of minus 5.4 degrees Celsius.
At Qazigund, the gateway town to the Valley, the mercury dipped to minus 6.2 degrees Celsius, the coldest night of the season so far. Kokernag recorded a minimum of minus 3.2 degrees Celsius, while Kupwara in north Kashmir registered minus 5.8 degrees Celsius, officials said.
Kashmir is currently witnessing ‘Chilla-i-Kalan’, the harshest 40-day winter period marked by extreme cold and the highest probability of snowfall. The period, which began on December 21, will conclude on January 30.
However, the plains of the Valley have yet to receive any snowfall this winter.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast dry but cloudy weather across the Valley until January 21. It further said that night temperatures are likely to witness a further dip till January 10, after which a gradual rise of one to two degrees Celsius is expected.(KINS)
