Cold wave conditions intensify in Kashmir; Srinagar records minus 5.3 degrees C

Srinagar, Dec 17 (PTI) Cold wave conditions intensified in Kashmir as the minimum temperature plummeted several degrees below freezing point, causing the fringes of several water bodies including the Dal Lake here to freeze, officials said on Tuesday.

Srinagar city recorded a minimum temperature of minus 5.3 degrees Celsius, down from minus 3.4 degrees Celsius the previous night, officials said.

The officials also mentioned that water supply lines in many areas of the city and elsewhere in the valley were frozen due to the cold.

Gulmarg, a tourist destination popular for skiing, recorded a low of minus 4 degrees Celsius, the same as the previous night.

Pahalgam, which also serves as one of the base camps for the annual Amarnath Yatra, recorded a low of minus 6.8 degrees Celsius, down from the previous night’s minus 5 degrees Celsius.

Konibal, a sleepy hamlet on the outskirts of Pampore town, was the coldest place in the valley, with the mercury dipping to minus 8.5 degrees Celsius.

The minimum temperature in Qazigund, the gateway to Kashmir, was minus 6 degrees Celsius; North Kashmir’s Kupwara recorded minus 5.6 degrees Celsius and Kokernag, in south Kashmir, recorded minus 5.7 degrees Celsius.

The Met office has forecast mainly dry weather until December 26, with the possibility of light snowfall in the higher reaches of the valley on the night of December 21-22.

However, the minimum temperature is forecast to fall further in the valley, and there will be a cold wave over many stations in the coming days, it added.