Kashmir looms in cold wave, Srinagar shivers at minus 2.4 degrees Celsius

The night temperature in Kashmir rose by several degrees Saturday night owing to a cloudy sky, providing huge relief to the residents from the intense cold wave. However, the temperature continued to settle below the freezing point. Srinagar recorded a low of minus 2.4 degrees Celsius Saturday night an increase of nearly five degrees from minus 7.2 degrees Celsius on Friday night. Qazigund the gateway town to the valley - in south Kashmir recorded a low of minus 1.8 degrees Celsius up from minus 6.2 degrees Celsius the Friday night, an official said.

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The nearby Kokernag town registered a low of minus 2.7 degrees Celsius as against minus 5.8 degrees Celsius on Friday night.

Kupwara in north Kashmir recorded a low of minus 3.4 degrees Celsius Saturday night compared to minus 6.0 degrees Celsius Friday night, the official said.

The night temperature in Pahalgam, which serves as one of the base camps for the annual Amarnath yatra in south Kashmir, settled at a low of minus 2.5 degrees Celsius Saturday night up from minus 8.3 degrees Celsius on a Friday night.

The official said the ski-resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir recorded a low of minus 4.0 degrees Celsius an increase of three degrees from the previous night.

The night temperature in Leh town in Ladakh region of the state increased over five degrees from the Friday night's minus 17.5 degrees Celsius to settle at a low of minus 12.2 degrees Celsius Saturday night, the official said.

He said Leh was the coldest recorded place in Jammu and Kashmir.

Kashmir is currently under the grip of 'Chillai-Kalan’ the 40-day harshest period of winter when the chances of snowfall are most frequent and maximum and the temperature drops considerably.

'Chillai-Kalan' ends on January 31, but the cold wave continues even after that in Kashmir. The 40-day period is followed by a 20-day long 'Chillai-Khurd' (small cold) and a 10-day long 'Chillai-Bachha' (baby cold).

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Earlier, an advisory was issued by Srinagar Deputy Commissioner Abid Shah, who warned that walking over the frozen lake was “dangerous and potentially life-threatening”. “Due to the sub-zero temperature in Srinagar, parts of the Dal Lake freeze these days… it is dangerous and potentially life-threatening to walk (or) play on it. It is requested to take note and desist from any such action,” Shah said in the advisory issued on Saturday.