At minus 6 degrees, banks of the Dal Lake in Srinagar are frozen
Srinagar saw the coldest night of the season at minus 6.2 degrees Celsius. Today was the third straight day when the minimum temperature settled at minus 6 degrees or lower in Srinagar city. The entire Jammu and Kashmir is freezing as temperatures have been hovering at subzero levels for the whole of last week.
The banks of the Dal Lake are frozen and so are many water bodies in the state. The streets were almost deserted and intense cold has also brought a power crisis that is common in these months in Jammu and Kashmir.
Meteorological department officials have said that the cold wave will continue through week and night temperatures may dip further in Kashmir. While the night temperature in Qazigund, in south Kashmir, stayed at minus 5.8 degrees Celsius, neighbouring Kokernag town saw the mercury rise marginally to minus 3.4 degrees.
Gulmarg, the famous ski resort in north Kashmir, recorded a low of minus 7.6 degrees Celsius, up 3 degrees from minus 10.6 degrees Celsius the previous night and Pahalgam which serves as one of the base camps for Amarnath Yatra was marginally warmer. Kashmir is currently in the grip of Chillai-Kalan, a 40-day harsh period of winter. It ends on January 31, but often the cold wave continues even after that in the Valley.
Some pockets in the Valley though are seeing unusually warm temperatures. In Kupwara, day temperature settled at 11 degrees, almost 6 degrees above normal. Due to these abnormal temperatures there is high risk of avalanches in the higher reaches. Last week 11 people died in Kupwara after an avalanche swept away a vehicle at Sadhna pass.