No Respite From Winter’s Grip: Temperatures Dip, Valley Braces for More Cold Days

The summer capital Srinagar witnessed a freezing temperature of minus 5.2 degrees Celsius, some 3.1 notches below normal on the intervening night of Sunday and Monday

The surface of Dal Lake froze at various places in the interiors on Monday as the night temperatures continued to plunge below zero across the Valley.

The summer capital Srinagar witnessed a freezing temperature of minus 5.2 degrees Celsius, some 3.1 notches below normal on the intervening night of Sunday and Monday.

Though there was improvement in foggy conditions, the residents said that the intense cold had frozen taps and water pipes in the morning.

“We had to cut through the frozen surface in the interiors of the Dal Lake while the lake’s part siding with Boulevard road saw a thin layer of surface freezing at a few places,” said Mohammad Amin, a Dal Lake resident.

The residents resorted to using hot water or flame blowers to unclog the frozen taps and pipes. “The harsh ‘Chilla-i-Kalan’ is at its peak. The cold is getting more intense. We are eagerly waiting for snowfall to break the dry frosty weather,” said Mohammad Umar, another resident.

Kashmir’s harshest winter period, “Chilla-i-Kalan”, began December 21 with the mercury dropping several notches below the freezing point at many places. It will end on January 31.

December witnessed largely deficient precipitation with temperatures going below zero most of the time during night.

“December was largely dry and there was no major spell. The New Year has begun and its first week will also be almost dry,” said MeT Srinagar centre’s director Mukhtar Ahmad.

He said that there were chances of a feeble western disturbance on January 4 and 5, which would lead to cloudy weather.

The day temperatures remained between 7 degrees Celsius to 12 degrees Celsius.

The southern Konibal area and Pahalgam tourist resort were the coldest at minus 6 degrees Celsius and minus 5.7degrees Celsius, respectively. The ski resort of Gulmarg in the north recorded a low of minus 3.4 degrees Celsius, the only place having temperature some 3.6 notches higher than the normal.

The MeT update further said that the gateway to Kashmir in south, Qazigund recorded a minimum of minus 3.6 degrees Celsius and the southern Kokernag observed a minimum of minus 1.7 degrees Celsius . In North Kashmir, Kupwara recorded a low of minus 4.5°C.

Kashmir’s winter pans out in three stages, starting with the 40-day intense period from December 21 accompanied with most of the snowfall, followed by 20 days of comparatively less intense chill (Chilla-i-Khurd), and final 10 days of mild cold (Chill-e-Bache).