Part of Dal Lake freezes as Srinagar records coldest night in 26 years
The temperature plunged to -8.4°C; IMD said Srinagar had witnessed a similar drop in 1995 when it recorded -8.3°C
A part of Kashmir’s centrepiece Dal Lake froze on Thursday as the cold wave in the Valley worsened with the mercury in Srinagar plunging to minus 8.4 degrees Celsius, the lowest in the city in 26 years, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
Meteorologist Sonam Lotus said it was Srinagar’s coldest winter night since 1995. “As per our record, the same minimum temperature was recorded in 1995. We do not expect the temperatures to fall beyond this.” He added Srinagar recorded a minimum temperature of minus 7.8 degrees Celsius two days earlier. Lotus said the weather will remain dry till January 20. “There is no forecast of snow or rainfall till January 27. However, light rain and snowfall cannot be ruled out,” he said.
The lowest temperature ever-- minus 14.4 degrees Celsius--was recorded in Srinagar in 1893.
The mountainous resort town of Pahalgam was the coldest place in the Valley as it recorded a minimum temperature of minus 11.1 degrees Celsius, up from minus 11.7 a day earlier. The mercury plunged to minus 7 in Gulmarg, the famous ski resort over 150 km away.
The freezing temperature has added to the woes of people as water supply pipes have frozen and roads have become risky for motorists amid complaints about delays in snow clearance following the heaviest snowfall in the Valley this season last week.
{{/usCountry}}The freezing temperature has added to the woes of people as water supply pipes have frozen and roads have become risky for motorists amid complaints about delays in snow clearance following the heaviest snowfall in the Valley this season last week.
{{/usCountry}}Kashmir is in the middle of the harshest 40-day phase of winter known as Chillia Kalan that ends on January 31.
{{/usCountry}}Kashmir is in the middle of the harshest 40-day phase of winter known as Chillia Kalan that ends on January 31.
{{/usCountry}}“Saw big icicles hanging around house roofs in Srinagar after a long, long time. Chilai Kalan, this year, is showing its full might. Clearly reminiscent of the childhood days when such scenes would be a routine every winter,” wrote a netizen Mir Faheem on social media. (With PTI inputs)
{{/usCountry}}“Saw big icicles hanging around house roofs in Srinagar after a long, long time. Chilai Kalan, this year, is showing its full might. Clearly reminiscent of the childhood days when such scenes would be a routine every winter,” wrote a netizen Mir Faheem on social media. (With PTI inputs)
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