Srinagar records its lowest temperature in 8 years at minus 7.8 degree Celsius

On Wednesday, Srinagar recorded its lowest minimum temperature in eight years, said the Meteorological Department. The freezing valley recorded an extremely low temperature of minus 7.8 degrees Celsius, which was the lowest in the city in eight years, an official of the MET department confirmed.

He said the exact same minimum temperature was recorded in the city in 2012 on January 14. The rest of the valley was also reeling under intense cold.

Pahalgam tourist destination, which also serves as a base camp for the annual Amarnath yatra in south Kashmir, recorded a low of minus 11.7 degrees Celsius down from the previous night’s minus 5.6 degrees Celsius. The resort was the coldest recorded place in Jammu and Kashmir.

The minimum temperature in Gulmarg tourist spot settled at minus 10 degrees Celsius up from minus 11.2 degrees Celsius the night earlier. Qazigund the gateway town to the valley recorded a minimum of 9.3 degrees Celsius compared to minus 1.4 degrees Celsius a day earlier.

Kupwara in north Kashmir recorded a low of minus 5.6 degrees Celsius, while Kokernag, in the south, minus 9.9 degrees Celsius. The sudden plunge in the minimum temperature resulted in the freezing of water supply pipes. A thick layer of ice had frozen over many stagnant water bodies including the Dal Lake.

Kashmir is currently under the grip of ’Chillai-Kalan’( small cold) — the 40-days of the harshest winter period when a cold wave grips the region and the temperature drops considerably. The chances of snowfall are the most frequent and maximum during this period and most areas, especially in the higher reaches, receive heavy snowfall. After this, it will have a 10-day ’Chillai-Bachha’ (baby cold) period.

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