Srinagar experiences coldest night of season as mercury dips to minus 4.9 degrees

Srinagar experienced its coldest night of the season as the mercury settled nearly five degrees below freezing point, resulting in freezing of water supply lines and water bodies.

The temperature at night was recorded at minus 4.9 degrees Celsius, down from the previous night’s minus 4.5 degrees Celsius, an official of the Met department said.

The official said the sub-zero temperatures have resulted in freezing of water supply lines in many areas of the Valley, while fringes of several other water bodies were also frozen.

Qazigund, the gateway town to Kashmir Valley, also recorded its lowest temperature of the season as the mercury settled at a low of minus 3.6 degrees Celsius—a decrease of over a degree from minus 2.2 degrees Celsius, the official said.

The north Kashmir town of Kupwara recorded a low of minus 5.0 degrees Celsius, compared to minus 4.7 degrees Celsius the previous night, the official said.

There was some relief in the cold conditions in the rest of the Valley and Ladakh region as the night temperature went up slightly.

Leh, in Ladakh region of the state, registered a minimum of minus 12 degrees Celsius against yesterday’s minus 13.6 degrees Celsius, the official said. The nearby Kargil town recorded a low of minus 9.4 degrees Celsius, he said.

Pahalgam health resort in south Kashmir ? which serves as a base camp for the annual Amarnath Yatra ? recorded a low minus 5.9 degrees Celsius, up from minus 7.3 degrees Celsius 24 hours earlier, the official said.

The mercury at the famous ski-resort of Gulmarg, in north Kashmir, settled at a low of minus 3.0 degrees Celsius -? up by over a degree from yesterday’s low of minus 4.4 degrees Celsius. Kokernag town in south Kashmir registered a low of minus 2.3 degrees Celsius.

The Meteorological Department has forecast mainly dry weather in the state over the next four days, after which there is possibility of rains or snowfall at isolated places in the Valley.