Intense cold in Kashmir, Dal Lake freezes

Kashmir Valley continued to reel under intense cold as temperatures across the state plunged further, even as the fringes of the famous Dal Lake here were frozen for the first time this winter.

The summer capital Srinagar registered the coldest night of the season for the second time this winter as minimum temperature dropped to minus four degrees Celsius, a MeT Department spokesman told PTI.

Srinagar had registered the season's coldest night on December 23, when the MeT department recorded the temperature at minus four degrees Celsius.

He said Kargil, in the frontier region of Ladakh, was the coldest recorded place in the state with a low of minus 16.2 degrees Celsius, while the nearby Leh town shivered at minus 16.0 degree Celsius.

The famous ski-resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir recorded a low of minus 9.0 degree Celsius, while Pahalgam in south Kashmir registered a minimum of minus 7.8 degrees Celsius, the spokesman said.

The minimum temperature recorded at Qazigund, the gateway town of Kashmir on Srinagar-Jammu national highway, was minus 5.0 degrees celsius, followed by Kokernag in south (minus 4.2) and Kupwara in north Kashmir (minus 4.0).

The MeT office said the cold wave conditions will persist for some days in the Valley including Srinagar, as the weather will remain mostly dry across the state.

Srinagar had recorded a minimum of minus 3.8 degrees Celsius yesterday and the further dip in the temperature resulted in the freezing of Dal Lake and many other water bodies.

The lake has frozen several times in the past during chilly winters.

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