Srinagar shivers at minus 4 degrees Celsius

Parts of world-famous Dal lake froze on Friday as Srinagar city witnessed the coldest night of the season with the mercury plunging to minus 4-degree Celsius, below the freezing point.

A Met official said Dal lake and other water bodies in the Valley were partially frozen due to intense cold wave conditions over the past week. “The minimum temperature recorded in Srinagar today (Friday) was minus 4 degrees Celsius. The lowest ever recorded in December has been minus 12.6 degrees on Dec 13, 1964,” he said.

The lake was completely frozen twice in the last 52 years - in 1986 and 1964. The coldest temperature ever recorded in Kashmir was minus 14.4 degrees Celsius on January 31, 1893.

Gulmarg, the famous ski resort in north Kashmir was the coldest recorded place in the valley with a low of minus 6.2 degrees Celsius, compare to previous night’s minus 4.6 degrees while hill resort of Pahalgam in south Kashmir, which serves as a base camp during the annual Amarnath yatra, recorded a minimum of minus 6.0 degrees Celsius, against previous night’s minus 4.0 degrees, he said.

The official said weather would be mainly dry and cold during the next 48 hours and mercury will dip further.

Meanwhile, doctors have warned elderly persons and children not to move out of their homes in the morning and evening when the temperature remains below freezing point because of icy cold winds.