At -8.4°C, Srinagar coldest in 30 yrs

Srinagar, January 14

A major portion of Kashmir’s famous Dal Lake and several other water bodies froze on Thursday as the cold wave in the Valley continued with Srinagar recording the coldest night in 30 years, officials said here.

Srinagar recorded a low of -8.4°C, which was the coldest temperature recorded in the city in 30 years, an official of the Met Department said.

He said while Srinagar had recorded -8.3°C in 1995, the temperature had fallen to -11.3°C in 1991. The lowest temperature ever recorded in Srinagar was -14.4°C in 1893.

The rest of the Valley was also reeling under intense cold.

Pahalgam tourist resort, which also serves as a base camp for the annual Amarnath yatra in south Kashmir, recorded a low of -11.1°C — up from the previous night’s -11.7°C.

The resort was the coldest recorded place in Jammu and Kashmir.

The minimum temperature in Gulmarg tourist resort settled at -7°C — up from -10°C the night earlier.

Qazigund — the gateway town to the Valley — recorded a minimum of 10°C compared to -1.4°C a day earlier.

Kupwara, in north Kashmir, recorded a low of -6.7°C, while Kokernag, in south, -10.3°C.

Vast areas of many water bodies, including Dal Lake, have frozen due to the bone-chilling cold. The plunge in the minimum temperature has resulted in freezing of water supply pipes. A thick layer of ice has settled over several roads in the city and elsewhere in the Valley, making it difficult for motorists to drive.

Kashmir is currently under the grip of ‘Chillai-Kalan’ — the 40-day harshest winter period when a cold wave grips the region and the temperature drops considerably leading to the freezing of water bodies, including the famous Dal Lake, here as well as the water supply lines in several parts of the Valley. — PTI